


Polaris Airlines

by seeJanewriteeyohh



Category: The 100 (TV), The 100 Series - Kass Morgan
Genre: 3rd person, Airplanes, Clarke and Lexa are in love I only hope I can do them justice, Claven, Clexa, Cute, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Flight Attendant Clarke, Fluff, Fluffy, Lesbians, Polaris Airlines, airlines, clexa fluff, gate agent Lexa, ranya, travel dates, very little angst if any at all, why are these two just so cute
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-17
Updated: 2017-02-18
Packaged: 2018-09-09 03:05:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 36,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8873377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seeJanewriteeyohh/pseuds/seeJanewriteeyohh
Summary: Clarke is a flight attendant; Lexa is a gate agent. Everyone works at the airport in one capacity or another. Clarke doesn’t hate Wells, Finn doesn’t hurt Raven, and Lexa doesn’t die.The airport doesn’t run great, that is, until Lexa gets a job and Clarke and Lexa begin to work as a team. There are twists and turns, but the story isn’t over until Clarke and Lexa are happy and have been for a very long time. There will be slight Claven happenings because I love them so much.OrAn authentic airline journey...enjoy! airline!au





	1. Chapter 1

Her perky voice cuts through the clamor of the crowded airplane, “Ladies and gentlemen, good morning and welcome aboard Polaris Airlines with service to Houston. My name is Clarke, and with me in the cabin is my good friend Wells. If you have two carry-on items, please place one under the seat in front of you and the other in the overhead bins. If you need any assistance stowing your luggage, please let a flight attendant know. And as you locate your seat, please step inside your row allowing others to pass. Thank you, and once again, welcome aboard.”

It was a pleasant morning in Albuquerque, where they had spent the night. The air outside was crisp and fresh, and Clarke had been blessed with a good crew. Captain Kane had bought everyone coffee, and Clarke was working with one of her best friends, Wells. She met Wells two years ago, back in initial training where they grew close during those grueling 5 weeks. He was currently that person in her life who understood her best. They came from similar backgrounds as Army brats, and now they shared a life in the skies. As an airline employee, especially a part of the flight crew, Clarke found it easiest to bond with those who understood the lifestyle and demands of the job. Finding a sleep or exercise schedule, or even an eating schedule, is hard; dating is plain impossible. Your friends, your family, sometimes your enemies, and (all too often) your lovers are your flight crew because despite the constant travel, the inflight world is rather small.

Their 4-day trip was coming to an end, and soon Clarke would be able to collapse into her own bed, her own pillow. This thought alone kept her going through the daily catering mishaps and passenger demands. On their last flight of the evening, from Columbus, Ohio, Wells pulled Clarke aside.

“So…” he began, smiling broadly. “This afternoon I finally got offered a training date for ATC.” For months now Wells had been applying to Air Traffic Control school. It was a good, steady career with fantastic pay and benefits, a highly-respected position in the airline community. And even though Clarke had been preparing herself for Wells to leave, it still pained her as the information sunk in.

But Clarke tried her best to be happy for her friend and put on a wide smile, “That’s great, Wells! Aww, I’m so happy for you!” She punched his shoulder lightly as he rocked side to side in his giddiness.

He threw an arm around her and kissed her head, “Don’t worry, I’m gonna miss you too, kid.”

Clarke smiled sadly as she wrapped her arms around Wells’ waist. “Man,” she breathed, “I’m going to miss you a lot.” But she knew this was the airline life; this was part of it. Lots of hellos. Lots of goodbyes, too. Clarke took a deep breath and parted from their embrace. “I’m really happy for you though. That’s going to be a great job, Wells. You deserve it.”

Wells smiled big again, “I know! I’m so excited! Now come on,” he bounced, with his newfound enthusiasm, “let’s get this service done!” Clarke laughed as they pushed the cart out of the galley and through the aisle.

Later that flight, after their service, and after they finished munching on snacks in the galley, Wells turned to Clarke. “You know, you could always come with me. We make a pretty good team.” Wells reached down for one of Clarke’s hands, rubbing a thumb over her knuckles.

Clarke looked down at their joined hands, suddenly saddened. Her silence was enough of an answer, but she soon added, “I’m going to miss you, my friend.” Clarke pulled her hand back, and their arms fell to their sides. Wells brought one arm around Clarke for a side hug and rested his head against hers.

“Me too,” was all he could say.

That night as she came home, squeezing each throbbing foot from her heels and plopping down on the unmade bed, Clarke stared at the wall for a moment, soaking in the peace. Her ears were slightly ringing from the echo of a jet engine, and her heart was sinking at the loss of her friend Wells. Future communication wasn’t out of the question, and visits were an option, but Clarke couldn’t help feel that things with him would never be the same again. Life was always unstable, and well…it sucked. She laid back on the bed and rested her eyes. She may have fallen asleep like that.


	2. Chapter 2

Several weeks later, after Wells had turned in his badge and wings and said his goodbyes, Clarke was riding the airport employee shuttle to be dropped off at the terminal. Climbing down the steep steps of the bus, bag in tow, Clarke felt someone grab her rollerboard suitcase out of her hand. “Here, let me get that for you,” came a voice from behind.

Clarke turned, “Oh thanks! Hey! Finn, right?”

First Officer Finn flashed her a white smile and tossed his hair to the side, “That’s right. Clarke, yeah?” he pointed at her. She nodded, gathering her bags together. “You heading to Chicago?”

“Yep!” she smiled, offering to shake his hand. “Nice to see you again.”

Finn slid his hand into hers and gave it a soft shake, “You, too! When was the last time we flew together? I think a couple months ago?”

“I think so,” Clarke responded, already kind of over the small talk. She turned to drag her bags toward the terminal doors, but she remained polite and searched for something to mention about Finn from their trip. “I was working with Monroe and we overnighted in, uh, Albuquerque? Yeah, I remember now; you were both super lame and didn’t want to grab food with me.” Clarke teased.

Finn feigned offense, but smiled, happy for the chance to banter, “Oh, come on now! It was like a 12 hour overnight!”

“What, did you need to wake up 3 hours early to do your hair or something?” Clarke shot back coolly.

Finn laughed, but had to pause for a moment to think of a comeback. “No…I had to get a workout in.” He pumped imaginary weights, flexing his bicep. “This body doesn’t sculpt itself.”

Clarke chuckled and rolled her eyes. But Finn was clearly already smitten; he couldn’t take his eyes off her. “But I think I messed up not spending that time out to dinner with you.” Finn added, nodding his head approvingly. Clarke was a pretty girl, no doubt. Wavy blonde hair, piercing blue eyes, beautiful skin, and above all, a fiery personality. Sometimes, she felt, it was that last one that got her into the most trouble.

They walked to security mostly in silence after that, Finn sneaking glances at Clarke. TSA took longer than normal because an elderly man, who probably hadn’t flown since the 80s, was getting searched over in front of Clarke and Finn. Finn commented under his breath, “This is ridiculous.” But Clarke couldn’t help feeling sorry for the old man. _Why would his family let him fly alone? And why is TSA dealing so roughly with him? Poor guy._

When they finally got to the gate, the gate agent named Anya checked their IDs and handed them paperwork. “I’ll send them down 25 minutes prior.”

Clarke turned around, “That’s in 2 minutes. I’ll need a little more time than that.”

Anya faced her, not ready to back down any time soon, “You should have been here 15 minutes ago. Then we wouldn’t have this problem.”

“It happens; you gotta learn to be more flexible in this industry,” Clarke lectured.

Anya stepped closer, “In this _industry_ , you live and die by the clock.” She looked at her watch, “Looks like you have 1 minute and 45 seconds now. What’s it going to be?”

Clarke took a deep breath and grumbled as she pulled her bags down the jet way, “Come see me before you board. I promise we’ll go out on time. We’re not even full.” She waved the preliminary paper at Anya, who sighed loudly and shut the jet bridge door behind her.

Clarke popped her head inside the aircraft, mimicking her least favorite gate agents, “Ready to board? It’s 25 prior! Ready to board? Oh, I see we’re missing the left wing there, but are you ready to board? …They can clearly see we’re not ready yet. Give me a split second to breathe! Hey Octavia!”

The other flight attendant, already waiting in the aircraft chimed in, “Oh, yeah. Breathing isn’t important.” They both rolled their eyes amusedly in their shared frustrations with gate agents. “Hey Clarke! It’s good to see you again.”

“You too, sorry I’m late. Do you mind if I work in the back today? I can’t deal with this gate agent right now.”

“Of course! You’re the boss!” At that, Finn emerged from the cockpit along with the Captain who introduced himself as Adam.

“Hey guys!” Adam announced. “Let’s see, we got 45 people, one hour. The ride should be good, but if that changes, I’ll let you know. Any questions?” Octavia and Clarke shook their heads as Anya stepped inside the aircraft.

She was all business. “Everything in order? I’m gonna send them down.” Clarke rolled her eyes and continued down the aisle to quickly put her bags away and check the safety equipment. Everything looked good up until she tugged on her jumpseat, and it wouldn’t retract. Immediately she walked up to the cockpit to report the issue.

Finn was sitting in his seat to the right, kicked back and playing on his phone. “Oh darn, I guess we can all go home now,” he joked.

Clarke glared at him playfully. “Yes, _you_ can.” She faked an innocent smile when he turned to her in mock pain.

But Adam ended the banter and thanked Clarke, “Okay, we’ll get someone to come out real quick to take a look at it.”

“Should we delay boarding?” Octavia stuck her head in with Clarke’s to ask.

“No, this shouldn’t take more than a minute to fix,” he replied. As she returned to the back of the cabin to quickly finish her safety checks, Clarke could hear Adam contacting maintenance.

Clarke had barely finished checking the rest of her safety equipment when the first passengers waddled on ungracefully. About 20 were boarded when Clarke caught sight of Raven limping down the aisle with her leg in a brace and a bag on her shoulder. Raven was a good friend and one of Polaris’ best aircraft mechanics. “Hola, little lady,” a cheery Raven greeted Clarke. “I hear you have a retracting problem; I’m here to grease it up real good for ya.” She added a wink and Clarke huffed at her in amusement.

“Hey old friend, I was hoping they’d send you,” Clarke held her arms out as Raven advanced toward her. Their embrace was tight and full of love, even though they hadn’t truly known each other that long. Clarke met Raven several months ago during a particularly frustrating maintenance delay, and Clarke couldn’t help but be smitten by Raven’s cocky yet charming attitude.

“Of course they sent me,” Raven smirked. “I’m the best.” Raven set to work on the seat, pulling off the cushions, and Clarke turned her attention back to the boarding passengers. “They were actually expecting this call.” Raven continued. “I saw a note on the board this morning when I got in. Apparently, some overnight cleaners noticed the issue and said something to the maintenance crew working last night.”

Clarke spun around, “And nobody bothered to do anything about it?”

“Lazy bums,” Raven muttered as she sprayed WD-40 into the track behind the cushion.

“Seriously,” Clarke added. “That’s actually really annoying. Were they really that busy last night that they couldn’t take 5 minutes to fix the problem?”

“This sort of thing is best left until passengers are literally boarding the aircraft,” Raven mused, gesturing to a man in a suit, shamelessly punching his bag into the overhead with his balled-up fists.

Clarke didn’t even have time to laugh at this guy’s ridiculous display because just then she got a call from the interphone up front. When she picked it up, she heard Octavia’s voice, “…hey…so, uh. Looks like we’re going to have to deplane. Finn found something wrong with the aircraft during his walkaround. So, uh…”

Clarke sighed loudly, “Seriously? Wow…is the gate agent down here?”

“Anya?” Octavia asked, “No, she’s still at the gate. She doesn’t know yet, but I think Finn just walked up to tell her. Should I wait to make an announcement until she’s down here?”

“Yeah, just wait for her. Adam will probably make an announcement.”

“Okay, thanks,” Octavia hung up the phone, followed by Clarke.

Raven looked up, “What was that?” Clarke rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to tell Raven when a passenger sitting in the very back turned around, “Something wrong?”

Clarke put on a smile, “Well, I’m waiting to hear more, but we may have a slight maintenance delay.”

“Are you kidding me?” the passenger snarled. Ignoring the passenger’s complaints, she turned back to Raven to relay the message.

Then the PA interrupted them, “Good morning ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. It seems that while the, uh, First Officer was doing his walk around the aircraft, he, uh, found some discrepancies. So we’re gonna have maintenance come out and take a look at it. Uh…once we get word from them I’ll, uh, let you know how soon it can be fixed. In the meantime, we’re gonna keep you on the aircraft, seeing as it could be a quick fix. I’ll, uh, keep you updated as we receive more information, thank you.” The PA clicked off, and Clarke felt the weight of passenger upset permeating through the cabin. They looked to her and Octavia for answers, but all she could do was walk around and say she didn’t know. She didn’t know, but when she did, she would tell them.

Raven quickly finished with the jumpseat after hearing Adam’s announcement. Wiping down the leftover grease on the seat cushion, she nodded to Clarke saying, “Ain’t no rest for the wicked,” as she fought her way up the aisle toward the cockpit to find out what exactly went wrong.

After a minute or so, Clarke, too, made her way toward the front of the aircraft to hopefully get some more information on what was happening. An elderly woman reached for her arm, “Am I going to miss my connection? I only have 45 minutes until my next flight.” She rumpled with some papers trying to show Clarke her boarding pass. “I’m going to Jacksonville.”

“I’m not sure right now what’s going on or how long this will take. My advice would be to sit tight just a little longer, and if your connections are going to conflict with this delay, you’ll have the option to deplane and take another flight or stay on this one and find a later flight to Jacksonville once we get to Chicago. It’s just too soon to tell what exactly you should do.” Clarke nodded to the older woman, hoping that was a satisfactory answer and kept walking. She looked up to see Octavia in what seemed to be a heated discussion with a passenger in first class.

“I can’t predict the future, sir,” Octavia snapped, obviously frustrated.

“Well I just don’t see how this issue wasn’t discovered earlier on! Why did they even bring us down here if the plane isn’t working right?” The passenger continued griping as Clarke approached a now seething Octavia.

“Let’s just ignore the miracle of flight,” Octavia threw her arms up in exasperation, “and let’s all yell at our flight attendants instead!” Clarke put a hand on Octavia’s shoulder, knowing the girl was seconds away from losing it. “I don’t think you understand where my authority lies, sir. I serve you drinks and get you off the plane in an emergency. That’s it!” Octavia stormed off toward the forward galley, and Clarke spoke to the man over her shoulder as she followed Octavia.

“We’re doing what we can, and as soon as we have more information, we’ll let you know.” Once hidden in the galley, Clarke spoke to Octavia, “Hey, you know they’re going to ask these questions. They do it every time.”

“I’m just so sick of it. I can’t deal with it today,” Octavia spat as she rummaged through atlas drawers, preparing for a beverage service that they may never do if the plane stays broken. “I’m so done with people.”

At that moment, someone came up behind Clarke, “Hey there! A delay, huh?” Taking cues from Octavia’s frozen face, mouth hanging down, Clarke turned around to see the most gorgeously sculpted ramp agent she’s ever seen.

“Uh, yeah,” Clarke sputtered. She looked to Octavia who was now smiling pleasantly at the young man. “…looks like it,” she added, realizing Octavia appeared to be speechless.

“Bummer. Well, we got the bags all loaded up already. Hopefully we don’t have to take them back out again,” he laughed. Octavia joined in flirtatious laughter while Clarke smiled politely. “I’m Lincoln by the way,” he held out his hand to Clarke then a staring Octavia, lingering a little longer in their shake. “I’ve seen you around before.”

Octavia beamed, “Yeah, I’ve seen you, too. I’m Octavia.”

“Octavia…,” he grinned as the word left his lips. “You’re very pretty.”

Octavia gasped at his sudden honesty. Then garnering strength from his boldness, her eye brows shot up, “No, _you’re_ pretty!” Clarke exhaled in amusement at the scene playing out before her.

“Really?!” he exclaimed, “well, let me get your number!”

Octavia laughed for a moment before getting serious. “Okay,” she stared at Lincoln in shock for a moment before he fumbled in search for his phone and snatched the gloves off his hand, paying no mind to one as it flew a few feet down the aisle.

“Okay,” he said, phone ready, “what is it?” Octavia read off her number. “Alright, I’m calling you,” he held his phone up to his ear, smiling broadly when Octavia’s phone began buzzing. Lincoln laughed as he began to back up out of the aircraft, bending over to retrieve his fallen glove, “Okay. Okay! We’re gonna hangout sometime, okay?” Octavia waved giddily as he made his exit through the jet bridge door and back down to the ramp with a bright white smile.

Left in the lovebird’s wake, Clarke let out a loud laugh after Lincoln was out of sight. “Did that even just happen?” Octavia’s smile never faded all through the rest of the delay.

***

The next day, in the middle of one of their flights, Octavia came up to Clarke after having finished the main cabin service. “So, would you be interested in going to a party with me?”

Clarke played it suspiciously, “What party?”

Octavia sighed casually, pretending to inspect her fingernails, “Oh, just this really awesome party that this really handsome prince has invited me to that I’m really nervous to attend alone…”

Clarke couldn’t help throwing her head back in laughter for a moment, “Haha, oh, fine. For love!” Clarke grabbed her water bottle and held it up before taking a few gulps.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cla-ven, cla-ven, cla-ven! Yeeeeeeey!

The party turned out to be fairly close to Clarke’s apartment complex, which she shared with Octavia, so Octavia stopped by Clarke’s apartment to pick her up before they headed over together. She could tell Octavia was nervous by the way she spoke quickly, filling Clarke in on all the details. One of Lincoln’s ramp friends had just bought a new house with a patio, fully furnished basement, and a grill that he was apparently eager to try out. Clarke could smell the barbeque before she could hear it, and she could hear the party before she could see it. But she was glad for the crowd. It meant she could either join in on the fun as just another stranger, or maybe she would find someone here she knew. Octavia would no doubt ditch her immediately in search of Lincoln.

The girls parked the car and walked into the gathered crowd around back. Lincoln spotted Octavia in seconds, beckoning her and Clarke to meet some of the people standing around him. Clarke politely made introductions when suddenly a familiar face popped out the back door.

“Raven!” Clarke waved, “What’s up, girl!”

Raven beamed and held an arm out for a quick hug as she hobbled over, “Clarke!!! Hey! I didn’t know you’d be here!”

She pulled back to stand in front of Clarke, who motioned in the direction of her already gone friend, “I came here with Octavia.” She looked around, “Who’s already left me for someone hotter.”

“Aww!” Raven pulled Clarke in by her neck, “You can chill with me! Let’s find you a drink!”

Raven dragged her by the arm to the kitchen where a young man was posted up, mixing drinks for everyone. “Clarke,” Raven announced, “This here is Monty.” She grasped Clarke’s shoulders from behind and gave them a shake. “Monty, this is Clarke. She needs a drink.”

Monty smiled warmly, “What can I get you, Clarke?”

Clarke shrugged, “Something not too strong for now. Something tasty.” Monty laughed.

“You got it.” He soon whipped up a fruity drink that was delicious but definitely too strong, and she and Raven left the kitchen to wander. Raven pointed around the various rooms, quietly introducing people to Clarke. Even after having worked there for almost two years, Clarke didn’t realize how close the airport employees all were. The inflight crew usually stuck to themselves and didn’t get to know the airport workers too well.

“That big, quiet guy in the corner is Gustus. He works on the ramp,” Raven explained. “And that tall one over there with the silly grin and sad mustache is Wick, another maintenance guy. He’s a ramper; he’s a ramper; those are all TSA.” She subtly pointed as she spoke, “That guy over there with the crazy hair and goggles is Jasper; he works at the Starbucks in Terminal C. And he’s actually best friends with Monty, the guy making drinks.” Raven scanned the room, “Let’s see, that girl with the scar on her face is Emori, and she’s one of the new airplane cleaners. I’ve seen her around the airport too, in crew rooms and such…And-”

Clarke stopped Raven, “All these people work at the airport??”

Raven nodded, looking around, “Most of them, yeah.”

“I recognize, like, one face, maybe. How is it I don’t know any of these people?” Raven looked at Clarke questioningly. “I mean, I’m in and out of this airport 4 times a week or more, and I don’t know anyone here.” Clarke whispered the last line in horror at herself. Raven just gave a quick shrug. “I’m feeling really bad right now. We’re all sort of coworkers, and I feel like I’ve been so self-involved, only just now learning their names and seeing their faces…” Clarke’s voice trailed off, feeling guilty.

“Well, hey, I don’t know everyone’s name. But I also spend _way_ more time at the airport than you, and I’m there almost every day. You’re more in and out! Don’t feel bad.” Raven nudged into Clarke. “It takes you about 10 minutes to walk through the airport to get to the plane. And you do that walk, like you said, maybe 4 times a week. It’s not surprising you don’t know these guys.” Raven put a soothing hand on Clarke’s shoulder, seeing as Clarke didn’t seem to feel any better, “But that’s why I’m introducing you! Now you can say hi to them.”

Clarke just shook her head in self-loathing. Maybe the alcohol was getting to her head a little bit, but she was beginning to feel such love for everyone. “We should all hangout _more_ like this,” she insisted. “Like, we should all be best friends. Rampers and pilots and cleaners and,” Clarke pointed to herself, “flight attendants,” she rested a hand on Raven’s shoulder, “and mechanics. Let’s all be best friends and hangout together like this all the time!” She gestured at the room before her.

Raven smiled and held her drink up to Clarke’s, “To us! One big happy miserable airline family!” Raven cheered.

The rest of the night they floated from group to group and activity to activity, but Clarke stuck around Raven. She liked the spunky girl’s contagious positive attitude, and later in the evening, after a few more drinks, they found themselves huddled on the couch talking intently to one another. “It happened a few years ago,” Raven said, patting her leg. “I was driving early one morning to catch a flight. They were sending me to Indianapolis to work on a plane there. And as I drove through an intersection, some drunk guy was running his red light and smashed right into me.” Raven demonstrated by clapping one hand hard against the other.

Clarke gasped. “Oh my gosh!”

“Yeah, so I’d say I’m actually lucky to just have the limp and occasional braced leg.”

“That’s awful though, I’m sorry.” Clarke softened her eyes at Raven.

Raven shrugged a shoulder, “What doesn’t kill me!” she smiled.

Clarke nodded solemnly before changing the subject. “So, what do you do for fun…do you like movies? I _love_ going to the movies, even by myself,” she admitted.

Raven shook her head and looked away, trying to laugh, “I hardly ever go to the movies. They make me sad, even the funny ones.”

“Why?” Clarke whispered seriously, drawing out the word. She took another sip of her drink.

Raven shrugged and tried to be cool, but her true emotions bled through, “I don’t know, it’s like this perfect world where nothing can _really_ hurt you because it’s just a story being played out, right? And when I was younger, I used to think life could really _be_ like that.” Raven scratched mindlessly at the couch. “But growing up, you soon realize the world isn’t like a movie or a story at all. The world hurts. And watching movies doesn’t make it any better.” She shrugged again, “It’s a waste of time.”

Clarke’s eyes were wide when she exclaimed, “Whoaaa.” Raven scrunched her nose, trying to remain nonchalant. But Clarke scooched closer, “That’s deep. Like, bottom of the sea deep, Rae.” Raven shook her head in humility. “You’re right, though,” Clarke confessed, looking at the floor. “Life is hard… Especially in this industry. You don’t have a normal schedule or a normal life. You constantly work with these horndogs who treat you like a piece of meat. Okay, yeah, I’m bi! But that doesn’t mean I’m hitting on you when you eventually pull that information out of me.” Clarke took another sip of her drink.

Raven nodded, some of her old confidence back, “Right?? But at least you work with a larger _variety_ of people! I’m such an obvious target in the maintenance world. They’re constantly hitting on me; it’s no longer flattering! I tried to put an end to it, but they seem to like the abuse more than the sweet girl attitude. I don’t want your dick, you dick!” Raven shouted, startling a few guys from across the room. Clarke laughed at that, then Raven got serious again. “My mother was into all that. Every guy that glanced her way was welcome in her bed. And I saw how destructive that can be. I don’t ever want to be used like that.” Clarke momentarily rested her head on Raven’s shoulder, hoping to provide some comfort.

“She left you to fend for yourself?” Clarke ventured. She felt Raven slowly nod against her. “My mom was kind of the same way,” Clarke offered. “She wanted me to be strong for her. And I know she had a lot on her plate, too, but that shouldn’t have been my _job_ , you know? I was just a kid. I’m _still_ just a kid!” It was Raven’s turn to comfort, and she put a hand on Clarke’s knee before pulling back to look at her face.

“Yeah. I get that… It’s not fair.” The pair fell silent for a moment before Raven added, “And now that she’s dead, I feel guilty talking bad about her.” At that, Clarke lifted a hand to cup Raven’s cheek. She didn’t express sorrow for her loss or give her a look of pity, she just held her hand on Raven’s face.

“You’re worth way more than she could have ever realized,” Clarke cooed. “You’re really something special.”

Raven looked away and huffed. “I usually don’t talk about this kind of stuff.”

“Me neither,” Clarke said as they just stared at each other for a beat. The trust with each other was refreshing, and it was easy.

“Let’s talk more about you,” Raven crossed her arms and squinted at Clarke, “so your mom messed you up, huh?” she laughed.

Clarke couldn’t help feeling lighter with Raven’s blasé attitude about the whole thing. “Oh, Abigale Griffin…” Clarke smiled fondly, closing her eyes.

“Wait,” Raven sat up with her brow furrowed, “Abby Griffin? Your mom is Abby _Griffin_? Of _course_!”

“You know her?”

“Oh, me and Abby, we go way back,” Raven grinned, seeming to recall many memories. Clarke laughed skeptically.

“She’s the base manager here in Kansas City!” Raven continued. Clarke nodded slowly. “Yeah. We have regular chats.” Raven smiled while Clarke continued nodding with her eyebrows raised in surprise. “Nah, we don’t talk that much. But I stop by sometimes... She gives me food.”

Clarke looked down, and couldn’t help feeling a little pained with all this talk about her mother. “Yep, that’s my mom.” She forced a tight smile.

“I like your mom,” Raven added. The two sat in silence for a moment. “You’re so cool,” Raven finally admitted with an exhale, setting her empty cup aside. “Like, I look at you, and it seems like you have it all under control, you know?”

“Are you serious?!” Clarke gasped dramatically. “You are so…I look up to you so much, Raven. You’re so _smart_ and _confident_ ; I wouldn’t last a day doing what you do. You’re so strong. You know so much stuff, and you’re like one of the funniest people I know.” Clarke was bursting with enthusiasm now. “And you’re so _happy_.” Clarke flung herself against the back of the couch dramatically before facing Raven again. “How do you manage to stay so _happy_ all the time?!” Raven turned away, smiling knowingly. She ran her hand down Raven’s ponytail, flipping it out at the end, “And you’re so pretty, Raven!” Raven’s eyes met Clarke’s again. “You’re beautiful,” she practically whispered.

“No, _you_ are beautiful,” Raven stated. “You, Clarke, look at me,” Raven adjusted herself so they were now fully facing each other on the couch. “You are so pretty. And you’re so patient with other people. And you’re so nice. Gosh, Clarke, you’re just… _you_ are so beautiful,” she rested her hand on Clarke’s shoulder, close to her neck, “inside and out.” Then she leaned her face in, eyes intent on Clarke’s lips; as they inched closer, Raven took Clarke’s face in her hands. If Clarke hadn’t been drinking, she may have felt more anxious, and she may have pulled back. But this amazing, sexy woman was right in front of her, expressing her love and appreciation, so it was all Clarke could do but quickly close the gap between their lips.

At first the kiss was just short pecks of adoration against each other’s lips, but then one of them tilted their head for a fuller angle, and Clarke’s open mouth was moving with Raven’s open mouth in desperate attempts to be closer and closer, the buzz in their brains silencing everything around them. It was all warm breath and gasping. Clarke laid back on the arm of the couch, pulling Raven along by the elbows. It felt so good to be with someone, touching. Raven settled halfway on top, and resumed kissing. Clarke’s hands explored Raven’s face and the expanse of her back under her shirt. When Clarke found Raven’s butt and gripped her tight, Raven responded by kneading a hand into Clarke’s breast. This drew a sudden gasp out of Clarke; and grinning widely, Raven moved her lips to Clarke’s neck, licking a trail then sucking lightly. Clarke began getting antsy and started rocking her hips, but her still-clouded brain didn’t allow her to advance beyond that point. Raven returned her lips to Clarke’s, and they continued their affections lazily.

***

When they woke up the next morning, they were still laying together on the couch, Raven half on top of Clarke, fingers tangled in blonde hair. Clarke woke first with a deep inhale and a stretch that roused Raven enough for her to lift her head. Raven smiled with closed eyes, “Hmm, good morning…?” Clarke moved to try and sit up before realizing how weak and in pain her body was from sleeping on some stranger’s couch.

“Ugh,” Clarke groaned, “good morning.” She craned her neck around to see a few other bodies strewn about the living room. “Looks like we weren’t the only ones who spent the night,” she yawned.

Raven let out a grunt, “Yeah, that happens sometimes... We’d rather sleep it off for a few hours than risk driving home.” And with the twitch of sorrow she saw in Raven’s face, Clarke remembered everything in a flash: Raven’s drunk driving incident, her dislike of movies, her dead mother, her own mom, and their _kiss_. Suddenly she didn’t know how to proceed. “So, uh…” she laughed. “Last night was…interesting?” Raven feigned a blank expression before making fun of Clarke’s obvious discomfort.

“Interesting?” she chuckled quickly changing the subject. “I’m starving. Are you starving?”

Clarke relaxed, smiling up at the ceiling, whispering in amazement, “Food sounds _so_ good right now.”

They left the house as quickly and quietly as possible in Raven’s car to search out a delicious, greasy diner. And within a half hour, they were chomping down cheesy eggs and sticky pancakes. For a while, they only made grunts of pleasure and offered smiles with cheeks full of food as they shoveled breakfast into their bellies; then Clarke spoke.

“What are you thinking about?” she casually asked Raven before taking large gulps from her glass of orange juice.

Raven barely looked up from her plate when she responded, “How happy my mouth is right now!”

“…What are you thinking about _last night_?” Clarke ventured as she stared at her own plate, stabbing some fried potatoes onto her fork.

Raven shrugged, “I had a really great time. I’m glad you decided to show up.” She kept her focus on her food.

“So…” Clarke began, not knowing how to finish.

Raven spoke again. “Hey, Clarke, look,” she finally rose her head and held her silverware to the side, “I mean, I know we made out and shared a couch last night, but it doesn’t have to mean any more than that. Not if you don’t want it to.” Raven offered to Clarke who gave a small smile.

“We’re gonna be good friends,” was all Clarke said as she pointed her fork toward Raven and went back to her meal. Raven’s smirk lingered until she eventually retreated to her plate, too.

Conversation flowed freely between the two girls about hilarious things from the night before and crazy work-related stories. And when the check came, Clarke took it, much to Raven’s protest. “I’m paying,” Clarke finalized. “Because you have to driving me home now.” The two parted ways rather unceremoniously, nothing but a quick hug and a request to hangout again soon. Which they did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if you're enjoying it so far!  
> Also, I'm on tumblr. But who isn't? Hahahh
> 
> bu-bumblr


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is mostly just for fun. I promise Lexa will show up at some point, hahah. I'm just building up! (gradually)
> 
> Merry Christmas, and I hope you all have a lovely holiday season :)

**A few months ago, when Clarke first met Raven:**

Clarke never fully understood the actual problem that caused their long maintenance delay, but it had something to do with the flight deck display panels. Raven was the mechanic spending most of her time on the aircraft. She was fun, positive, and friendly, so Clarke was immediately drawn to her. After 30 minutes or so of Raven and her colleague Wick tinkering around with the equipment, Raven shuffled to the cabin to fill out paperwork in a passenger seat next to Clarke who was playing on her phone.

“Did you break it?” Clarke smiled, legs kicked up over the first class seat, not looking up from her phone.

“Yeah,” Raven played along, throwing her arms out uselessly. “We’re gonna have to strip the whole thing, assemble it from scratch. Nothing but a dirty mess in there. But don’t worry, we’ll have it fixed up, and you’ll be on your way by no later than next week.” Raven smiled as she continued filling out the maintenance sheet.

“Hmm,” Clarke grumbled, sitting up. “No can do. I got a sunny beach with my name on it. The week after would be better for me.”

“You going on vacation? Without me?” Raven gaped. “Come on, girl, I thought we were _friends_!” Clarke just laughed. “It does look like you’ll be repo-ing it to Denver, though. I _am_ a genius, but I am a genius without the proper parts at the moment.”

“We’re repo-ing!? Yes!” Clarke exclaimed, then shouted back to the other flight attendant posted up a few rows back. “Did you hear that, Monroe?”

Monroe, who had been napping across the seats sat up with squinty eyes and messy hair, “We’re doing what?”

“Repo flight! Woohoo!!” Clarke celebrated again.

Monroe looked at her confused, “What’s that mean?”

“You know, where we fly the plane without _passengers_ …” Clarke explained, circling her hands for emphasis.

“Ohh, you mean like a ferry flight?” Monroe was only a few weeks out of training, and still didn’t know all the airline jargon.

“Yeah!” Clarke smiled, “it’s the same thing.”

“Yay for sleeping!” Monroe slowly pumped a fist in the air before falling backward to the seats again.

 Raven quietly finished the paperwork and stood up before adding, “Next time, Clarke. Next time you tell me before you book a vacation, alright? Us gear heads like to party, too.” She winked down at Clarke who quickly rose.

“Well, hey! Do you want some snacks or drinks for the road? We’ve got plenty!”

As Raven sipped on her Cranberry Apple drink and tried to shove a popcorn bag into one of her jacket pockets, Captain Marcus took his seat up front with First Officer Finn. “Alright, ladies, make sure everything is latched and secure back there, we’re just a minute or so from shutting the door. As soon as Indra comes back down with the paperwork, we’re good to close.”

Clarke turned to Monroe who had walked up. “Is this your first ferry flight?” Monroe nodded and Clarke grinned wide, “Oh, so you’ve not had a “surfing lesson” yet.” She had dropped her voice, but Raven was close enough to hear, still rummaging through the snack drawer.

“What is that, like some sex thing?” she asked loudly. “Is that what happens on repo flights?”

Clarke’s mouth fell open, “What?! No! It’s a flight attendant thing, and you’re not a flight attendant,” she pushed Raven’s shoulder playfully, “so leave _some_ snacks for us and get out of here!”

“Have fun on your beach, beautiful!” Raven waved over her head as she sauntered off the plane, pile of snacks in hand.

“Thank you, my love!” Clarke sang back sarcastically. Then Indra, the gate agent, was there in an instant, paperwork was handed off, and the forward doors were closed and engaged. Monroe headed to the rear to engage the aft doors, then skipped back up to Clarke, just as she was closing the cockpit door.

“So what’s this surfing?” she giggled, bumping her shoulder into Clarke’s.

“Aisle surfing!” Clarke whispered excitedly. “You grab a tray and stand on it, sliding down the aisle during takeoff. It’s extremely fun and only a little dangerous!”

Side by side, Clarke and Monroe shuffled around the galley in search for good trays. Monroe picked up a small silver tray. “What about this one?”

Clarke laughed, “That’s too small, you’ll only fit one foot on it. Besides, the metal might be a bit too slick for your first time surfing. I use these ones!” Clarke pulled out a full size, thin plastic tray. “See?” she set the tray on the ground and stepped each foot into place. “And the edge around it is a little short, but it still keeps your foot in place while you slide.” She demonstrated, kicking her foot to the edge of the tray with an abrupt halt.

“I still like the idea of the fast silver tray,” Monroe laughed. “And see, if I take two, one for each foot, it’ll be like skiing!” She smiled as she put two small silver trays on the floor and slid around in them, testing them out.

“Give it a shot!” Clarke encouraged.

As the plane wound its way through the tarmac toward the runway, Clarke and Monroe took their positions at the front of the plane. “Alright,” Clarke explained, “I’ll go first to show you what it looks like, and you follow right after. Usually you can get two or three go’s before the plane levels off. So once we reach the end, run back up to the front, okay?”

“Okay!” Monroe looked excited as a little kid, with her trays still in hand, ready to be placed.

At the sound of being cleared for takeoff and Captain Kane’s PA, “Flight attendants, please be seated,” Clarke mounted her tray and braced her hands on the seats adjacent to her.

“Seated!” she squatted down in the air, making Monroe erupt into a fit of more laughter. Then the engines roared and the plane rolled forward getting momentum. Clarke gradually slid forward as the plane gathered speed, then as the wheels lifted off the runway, Clarke let go of the seats altogether and gracefully steered her tray down the center of the aisle. In only a few seconds, the plane was inclined steep enough for Clarke’s tray to be racing beneath her while she whooped and cheered. As she neared the end of the aisle and slowed herself with her arms on the seats, a very clumsy Monroe came crashing into her, arms and legs every which way. They found themselves both on the floor in a heap, and Clarke pointed to the front of the plane, “Again, again!” She was laughing so hard, she barely had strength to get up and fight her way up the incline. She and Monroe were grabbing at armrests and seats as they climbed back up. “After you,” Clarke said to Monroe once they were at the top again. Monroe was still buckled over with laughter.

“No, no! You first,” she wheezed.

“I learned my lesson surfing in front of you, n00b!” Clarke laughed. Clarke set Monroe’s trays at her feet and placed each foot on their tray before giving her a big push at the waist and watching her fly down the aisle. Monroe’s feet were wobbling uncontrollably as she crashed her way down the aisle yet again in a fit of laughter. Clarke let out another giggle as she followed straight behind, throwing her arms out as she went. “I’m the king of the world!! Woooohoohoohoooo!!!”

Monroe had fallen again at the bottom, still not having mastered the art of slowing down before reaching the end, and Clarke just kicked at her, unable to breathe with all the laughs struggling to get out.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lexa will be in the next chapter. And I can't wait.

It was only about noon after her trip with Nathan Miller ended a week after the party, so Clarke texted Octavia to see if she was around. About an hour later, Octavia replied with a, “Yeah, come on over.” Clarke put on her jacket and shoes and walked down the street to Octavia’s apartment. She knocked three times before turning the knob and letting herself in. “What up.” Clarke greeted.

“Hey!” a voice came from the bedroom down the hall. “What’s up!”

Clarke walked down the dim hallway and rounded the corner into Octavia’s room, immediately turning back around with an, “Op! Sorry!” Octavia was still in her underwear with a towel wrapped around her head.

“Hey! Sorry. I just got out of the shower,” Octavia said, not seeming the least bit upset. “I’ll be dressed in juuuust a sec.”

“I’ll be in the living room,” Clarke mumbled as she walked off. “What’ve you been up to today?” she shouted from the short distance.

“Ohh, just went grocery shopping and went to go workout…with Lincoln!” she added with a laugh as she emerged from the bedroom fully dressed.

“Ooooooh,” Clarke cooed. “So tell me everything that happened the other night!”

Octavia relayed the night’s events with the giddiness of a schoolgirl. “We didn’t stay at the party very long…”

“No kidding,” she deadpanned before giving Octavia a disapproving mother’s head tilt.

“He was _such_ a gentleman, Clarke,” Octavia defended. Clarke relaxed somewhat. “Really, it was very sweet and romantic. We went out to a big field and talked while we watched the stars.” Clarke listened respectfully as Octavia continued on and on about Lincoln. He grew up in northern Missouri on a farm, which required a lot of manual labor on his part since he was only the second boy in a family of mostly girls. And because his parents didn’t have the money to help him go to school, he decided to move to the city and work his way through a degree in agriculture. As it turns out, he took Octavia to the piece of land he was hoping to someday own. He had big plans and an even bigger heart, it seemed. He loved the airport and was working toward a management position on the ramp, according to Octavia, so he could save up. And the more she talked, the more Clarke approved.

“Did you kiss him?” Clarke smiled mischievously.

Octavia paused, gaping before admitting, “Duh!” Both girls turned to giggles. “And yes, he’s a great kisser. The best!” Clarke shook her head in mock disapproval before Octavia added. “Oh, don’t act like you didn’t have fun that night, too!”

Clarke’s smile dropped quickly, “What?”

“Mmm-hmm,” Octavia nodded, “that’s right. I heard about you and Raaaaven.”

“What!” Clarke shouted, not able to hide her smile. “From who??”

“One of Lincoln’s friends from the ramp, Nyko. It was _his_ house you guys slept at…all curled up together!”

“Wha-“ Clarke started, “Not cool, Nyko!”

“They were all a bit surprised,” Octavia laughed, “And disappointed.”

“Oh, gosh,” Clarke rolled her eyes.

“They don’t care for it much when the guys are gay, but apparently they’re _really_ disappointed when the girls are ga-“

“I’m not gay!” Clarke interrupted.

“Oh, I know, I know,” Octavia went on, “I’m just telling you what I heard…” Clarke groaned and laid her head back, giving Octavia a chance to come back down from her thoughts. “So…” Clarke looked up. “I mean, do you like Raven?”

Clarke tossed her hands up, “Yeah! But, no, it’s not like that... Raven’s really cool and amazing, but we’re only going to be friends.” There was a pause, “And yes, she’s a great kisser. A _really_ great kisser!”

Octavia threw her head back and laughed, throwing a pillow from the couch at Clarke. “I’ll take your word for it.” There was another quiet lull before Octavia spoke again. “Do you remember how you came out to me?” She smiled over at Clarke who laughed in amusement at the memory. “We were stuck on a long flight, playing BOB (Best On Board). And I had written down the seat number of this young, strapping blonde German, sitting next to his twin brother…and you go and write down this random seat number. So when I get up to investigate, BOB is a FREAKING GIRL!”

Clarke buckles over in laughter at Octavia’s dramatic antics. “Yep, yep.”

“A freaking girl! So I marched to the back galley like, what is this??” Octavia laughed, “Honestly, I don’t know why I was so surprised.”

Clarke shrugged, “Yeah, I don’t know why either. Everybody who works for the airlines is gay.”

“I’m not gay,” Octavia said.

“You’re gay for Lincoln.” Clarke shot back.

Octavia sighed dreamily, “I’m _so_ gay for Lincoln.”

Clarke laughed, “So gay. And PS you didn’t finish the story; the end is my favorite part! I start flirting with the Arabian goddess in 21C, who was flirting back, by the way,” Clarke smiled. “And as I’m standing in the aisle chatting, we hit some turbulence and I-“

“You fall directly into her lap,” Octavia finished, nodding.

Clarke nods along enthusiastically, “Best flight ever!”

“So gay,” Octavia taunts, shaking her head.

“You like it!” Clarke shouts back.

“If I liked it so much, I would have taken the opportunity when we first met,” Octavia’s eyebrow shot up.

“Huh?”

“I won’t pretend I didn’t catch you staring at my butt when we flew our first trip together.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Clarke insisted.

Octavia smiled, shaking her head. “You’re not as discrete as you think you are, Clarke.”

Clarke rolled her eyes, “Whatever, let’s watch some TV.” She got off the couch to poke around the kitchen, “What’d you buy me while you were out at the grocery store?”

“You can have some hot chocolate,” Octavia shouted from the living room as she searched for the remote, “but don’t touch the pizza rolls! You ate them all last time, and there was no stopping you.”

“Fiiiine!” came Clarke’s voice from the kitchen as she filled the kettle with water and turned on the stove. “When’s your next trip?”

“Tomorrow morning. I’m working with my brother,” Octavia replied.

“Aww! I haven’t seen him in forever! Tell Bellamy I said hi.” Clarke walked back to her spot on the couch. “How’s he doing these days?”

“He’s good,” Octavia sighed. “Still living in Denver and commuting here. Still living with Gina, and I’ve heard they’re doing a lot better.”

“Good,” Clarke nodded. “And how’s little Anthony?”

Octavia looked over to Clarke and couldn’t hold back her grin, “He’s so good, and _so_ cute. I visited them about three weeks ago, and he was saying my name, calling me O. And we were running around outside playing. He’s getting so big. He’s gonna be tall like his daddy.”

“Awww,” Clarke cooed. “I need to go see him again…”

“I’ll let you know next time I’m going out there.” Octavia pressed play for the next episode of How I Met Your Mother. “So when’s your next trip?”

“Friday,” Clarke grumbled. “And I’m working with Finn again.”

“Mm, he’s cute,” Octavia said offhandedly.

Clarke shrugged one shoulder, “Yeah, he’s alright.”

After that, the two girls turned their attention mostly to the show and enjoyed their afternoon with hot chocolate once the kettle began to whistle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr: bu-bumblr  
> Feel free to talk to me in the comments or on tumblr. I have nothing to do most days, haha


	6. Chapter 6

It was a bad morning right off the bat: a 3AM alarm for a 5AM show time to the airport. Clarke wasn’t exactly _not_ a morning person, but she definitely wasn’t a _3AM_ morning person. She slumped to the bathroom with a sleepy scowl and hissed as she turned the light on, instantly covering her face with her hands. She was sitting grumpily on the toilet with her eyes still closed in a frown when she peeked one eye open at the watch sitting on her kitchen sink. It wasn’t 3:00, it was 4:05. “Crap!” she yelled out loud. After that, her morning was nothing but a blur of pulling on tights, brushing on makeup, and throwing shirts and underwear into her suitcase. She zipped up her skirt and tossed on her sweater as she dragged her luggage out of the bedroom and proceeded to the kitchen with a gallop. She threw whatever she could find from the fridge into her small lunchbox and grabbed a stack of crackers and a bag of bread from the cupboard. She zipped everything up, checked for her passport, watch, manual, mentally checking off required duty items, touched the wings under her left shoulder, slipped on her shoes, and scrambled out the door.

It was _supposed_ to be a leisurely morning, which is why she changed her alarm to go off at 3AM and decided to not pack everything the night before. Except she didn’t change it… And as she was pulling out onto the street in the early morning darkness, she reached for her ID and couldn’t feel it. “Uhh!!” she screamed as she made a U-turn back into the apartment complex. She knew exactly where it was on the bathroom sink, so she would just leave the car running and be in and out in a second. Halfway to her door she realized the keys to her apartment were sitting still attached to the ignition. She grumbled at herself for her slow, morning-brain logic. She was already over this day…

Even slightly speeding down the highway, Clarke still had to run to catch the employee bus as it was leaving the lot. Thankfully, the driver was patient enough to idle for a few seconds, but he still didn’t hesitate to let Clarke know the bus has a schedule and to try to make it a little earlier next time. She ignored him as she secured her bags and fell into her seat with a huff. As they rode to the terminal, she continued her mental checklist to make sure she packed everything. _Shoot_. She wasn’t gonna need extra shoes for this trip anyway, right?

Inside the airport, TSA was as frustrating as always, waiting behind someone as the conveyer belt rolled forward an inch and pushed back two. _Come on!_ And this was the state she was in when she heard the PA. “Clarke Griffin. Please report to gate 55. Your flight is leaving in 30 minutes. Flight attendant _Clarke Griffin_.” Clarke tried to roll her eyes but ended up just closing them, nearly drifting off during those few seconds. She wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep.

“Really?” she said aloud to the PA announcement. A moment later she was grabbing her bags and clipping them back together as she scoffed toward the direction of her gate. Just past security though, Clarke spotted the coffee shop that was about to open. She saw Jasper inside, and recognized him from the other night. She was starving at this point and wouldn’t have another chance to eat breakfast for a few hours. “Hey Jasper!”

The gangly kid looked up at Clarke, eyes tired and hair askew, “Oh hey, Clarke, right? How’s it going…” he drawled in his morning daze.

“Can I buy a scone even though you guys aren’t open yet?” she pulled some money from her bag. “I have cash?”

“Sure, I don’t care,” he mumbled. “Which kind?”

“Blueberry, please,” he handed Clarke a scone wrapped in a napkin and accepted her cash. “Keep the change,” she added.

“Thanks!” he said with a sleepy smile. Then Clarke heard it again.

“ _Clarke Griffin._ Please report directly to gate 55. Flight attendant Clarke Griffin.”

Clarke was nearly marching as she reached the podium, lips pursed. The gate agent didn’t look up from her computer screen as she spoke slowly, “ _You’re the one_ working this flight?”

Clarke waited for the other girl to raise her eyes level with her own, “ _You’re the one_ who had me paged over the PA? Was that really necessary?” she glared. The agent only lifted her eyebrows, the smallest of movements. Clarke shifted her weight to one hip and brought a hand down to slap against her leg. “I’m 3 minutes late…”

“You’re 18 minutes late,” the agent fired back.

“Listen, no one actually shows up 45 minutes prior to departure,” Clarke assured. “The flight will still go out on time, trust me.”

“Do you know this for a fact?” the gate agent’s eyes were now boring into Clarke’s, making Clarke shift uncomfortably. Her eyes glimpsed at the scone clutched in Clarke’s hand.

Indra walked up behind the woman staring her down. “Lexa, did you check her in?” Lexa reached for her paperwork next to the keyboard.

“Clarke Griffin? Let me see your badge.” Clarke fumbled for the lanyard around her neck, leaning in hesitantly for Lexa inspect it, eyes shifting to Indra who always had a dominating presence. But her presence was nothing compared to Lexa’s right now. “Okay, you’re good to go down.” Lexa started toward the jet bridge door before adding, “Where is the other flight attendant?”

Clarke stepped forward, planting her feet, trying to regain some of the composure she felt like she had lost since 4 o’clock that morning, “I don’t know; I’m not sure who it’s supposed to be.” Lexa didn’t look up from the keypad as she swiped her badge and entered the code with expert fingers.

Indra advanced forward, “Well, you better figure it out because the delay will be going on the flight attendants. If she-”

“Indra, I will handle this,” Lexa interrupted. Clarke silently nodded to Lexa who nodded back. “Blake,” was all she said. “Octavia Blake.”

Clarke’s brow furrowed. “No, she was supposed to be on a trip that started yesterday…it can’t be her.”

“It’s what the paperwork says,” Lexa assured before snapping the jet bridge door open for Clarke to walk through. “I’ll be down in a minute to check on you. Find out where Octavia is,” she ordered.

When the door to the jet bridge closed, and Clarke was left alone in the humming, florescent hallway, the short encounter hit her like an ocean wave. She caught herself and took a deep breath. There was a fluttering in her stomach and a thumping in her heart that crept upward until it flushed her cheeks. There were images she suddenly couldn’t shake from her mind of full lips and dark eyeliner. Long, elegant fingers. And a fragrance so fresh and natural and new that it was becoming an obsession in her brain. _This is highly inconvenient_ , she thought.

Lexa held onto the handle until the door gently clicked closed. Turning back to her computer, she became acutely aware of her sudden need to breathe and how her uniform blouse and jacket seemed to feel like a fleece blanket against her skin. She was sweating. Lexa paused for a breath as she stood in front of her monitor and removed her blazer. There was no time to think. And she needed a moment. “Lexa,” Indra’s voice broke her stupor, “I need to return to the ticket counter. Anya is at the next gate over; if the second flight attendant doesn’t show up in the next 5 minutes, call Anya over. We may have to rebook about half of these passengers who have quick connections. It’s best to be proactive in these situations.” Lexa nodded once. “In the meantime, find out what the captain knows about the missing crewmember. Tell him to call scheduling.” Indra turned with a jerk and was gone.

Lexa swiped her badge once again and re-entered the door code. As she walked down the jet bridge toward the plane, she saw Clarke walking up. Both girls stiffened, suddenly unable to breathe again. “I’m coming to speak to the captain.” Lexa spoke officially.

Clarke continued advancing, “I called Octavia; she just got dropped off at the terminal. She’ll be at the gate in a couple minutes.” Lexa stopped in her tracks, and Clarke did the same. “Her car wouldn’t start. She had to take an Uber. We’ve all had a rough morning.” Clarke stopped talking and both girls only stood with a penetrating staring, curious but guarded.

“Okay,” Lexa swallowed thickly, “do you need any i-“

“I already called the ramp for ice. Gustus is bringing it up, and he said the security sheet is complete.” Lexa gave a shallow nod. “And I already did the safety checks, so all Octavia has to do is put her bags away and we can board.”

Lexa raised her eyebrows, “That was fast.” At that, Finn walked up behind Clarke in the jetway.

“Octavia is on her way,” he began.

“Yeah,” Clarke interrupted before he could go any further, “I already let her know.” Her eyes stayed trained on Lexa until Finn threw an arm around her shoulder.

“That’s why we keep you around, Clarke!” he chuckled, squeezing her. “You’re the responsible one!” Lexa shot him a quick glare at his obvious familiarity with Clarke and frowned at the arm draped around her shoulder.

“Alright. I will return to the gate for Octavia then. And I’ll come down to see you before we board.” Clarke gave an enthusiastic nod as she shrugged Finn’s arm off and Lexa made her swift departure.

Anya was at Lexa’s gate when she got back to the terminal. Octavia was standing beside her. “Hey, I’m sorry I’m late,” Octavia said as she saw Lexa.

“She’s good to go down,” Anya said over her shoulder without tearing her eyes from the computer screen. Lexa made quick work of entering the code and opening the door until it locked in place, ready for a speedy boarding. Octavia raced toward the plane, visibly frazzled. Anya spoke again, “Go ahead and check on them down there. I’ll get everyone ready up here.”

“You know, you don’t have to help me. I can handle boarding on my own,” Lexa said, not bitterly.

Anya turned around. “I know you can handle it, Lexa. Your training is over. I’m just doing this to help you out. My flight doesn’t leave for another 40 minutes.”

Lexa nodded, “Okay, I’ll go check on the crew.”

Before she could leave, Anya suggested, “If you’d rather stay up here and do your thing, I can go check on the crew.”

“No, it’s fine,” Lexa said, almost desperately. “I’ll be right back.”

When Lexa reached the plane, everything seemed in order. The aircraft security checklist was filled out, Gustus had delivered the ice, and Octavia had stowed her bags. Finn was chatting with Clarke in the galley when Lexa stepped onto the plane. “Hello,” she made herself known. Her jaw was clenching and unclenching as she pretended to stare down the aisle, watching Octavia approach their small gathering.

Octavia sighed heavily, “Man, what a crazy morning...”

“Tell me about it,” Clarke huffed as she leaned against the bulkhead wall. “I thought you were supposed to start your trip _yesterday_. What happened?”

Octavia nodded, “Yeah, we showed up yesterday, and the plane was broken. We were delayed all morning.” She gestured to Lexa. “Did that plane eventually go out?”

Lexa raised her head, not expecting to be addressed. “No. It’s still parked out there,” she said, pointing vaguely to the tarmac area behind the airport.

Octavia nodded before explaining, “Lexa was up working our flight yesterday morning, too.” Clarke used the opportunity to look Lexa up and down, and when she reached her eyes, she noticed Lexa was doing the same thing, and both girls quickly turned their attention back to Octavia. “And after 6 hours, Bellamy didn’t want to sit here any longer; he also didn’t want to fly back to Denver and make no money. So he asked to be reassigned. He tried to make sure scheduling would allow me to come along too, but the trip he picked up already had both flight attendants. So, anyway, the flight was canceled, and they sent me home.” Clarke nodded. “And they reassigned me for this trip.”

“Gotcha. Well, I wish I would have known,” Clarke said sweetly. “I know I was running late, but I could have given you a ride since your car wouldn’t start…”

Octavia groaned, “Ugh, I know… I didn’t realize this was the trip you were working. Oh, well,” she shrugged, “We’re all here now.”

Lexa made a move to leave, then Finn chimed in, “And we’re all so happy about that, huh?” He playfully elbowed Clarke, “Ain’t that right? Yeah?” Lexa felt her eyes narrowing again in disgust. She did not like this boy.

Clarke tried not to smile as she pushed him away, hitting him lightly on the arm, “Quit iiit!” She chased after him as he climbed into the cockpit.

Turning back to Lexa who had been intently watching the squabble, Clarke’s smile faded as she felt her nervous stomach quickly return. Lexa stood stoic, apparently waiting for Clarke’s final word. Clarke stepped into her space ever so slightly, “Alright, everything looks good. Send them down.”

“They’re on their way,” Lexa said as she backed away for another graceful exit, leaving Clarke staring after her. In that moment, she wanted nothing more than for Lexa to come back. She wanted to learn all about this girl. She wanted to know everything. Yet there was something there that scared her, something that she had yet to identify.

Fifteen minutes later, all passengers were boarded, and Lexa handed Clarke the final paperwork. They stood at the front of the plane waiting for Octavia to finish the passenger count. Lexa shifted her eyes to Clarke and with the smallest hint of a smile said, “That was impressive…it appears this flight will be on time.”

Clarke turned her head to face Lexa. She saw the amusement in Lexa’s features, and smiled back in spite of herself, “I told you, you can trust me. Plus,” she gazed down the aisle again, “you have a good ground crew this morning. Gustus listens to you.”

“Gustus is good at his job. And so are you.” Lexa smiled easily, nodding to the passengers seated pleasantly in their seats. Clarke couldn’t stop the flutter in her chest and found herself staring again. Lexa’s open blouse gracefully revealed a delicate collarbone. She wanted to trace it. She didn’t notice the smirk slowly slide across Lexa’s face. And she also didn’t notice Octavia was standing in front of her, eyes skimming from Clarke to Lexa and back to Clarke.

Octavia cleared her throat, “65 people?”

“Uhh,” Clarke shuffled for the paperwork.

“Yes, 65 people,” Lexa confirmed. “And one wheelchair.” Octavia filled out the small form and handed it to Captain Kane up front before returning to the back of the plane, leaving Clarke and Lexa standing side by side.

It seemed Lexa wanted to say something. Their few moments together were quickly running out. Lexa opened her mouth to speak, and Clarke was all too eager to hear what she was going to say. But then Kane shouted back, “Good to close!” holding the paperwork out.

Clarke handed the sheet to Lexa, who thanked her. And Clarke gave her a warm smile before saying, “See you later!”

“I’ll see you later,” she heard Lexa’s confident voice purr before the doors were closed and engaged and they were on their way.

***

A few hours later, Lexa was _craving_ a blueberry scone. The next break she had, she walked up to Jasper standing behind the coffee shop counter. “I would like a blueberry scone, please.”

Jasper, who looked much more awake now, grinned wide, “You got it, mah darling!” He swiped a scone from the display and plopped it into a bag with a flourish, “Voila!”

“Thank you,” Lexa replied.

“That’ll be…$2.35…$2.11 with your employee discount,” he typed it up on the register before catching a glimpse at Lexa’s stern appearance. She handed him her debit card, and he slid it through the tracks with another display of bravado, trying desperately to impress her. Lexa nodded another thanks at the tall, skinny kid. “Hey,” he called out as she turned to leave, “a bunch of us are going out for some drinks later tonight at Brew Top. You should come if you’re free!” Lexa blinked at him. “I’ll buy you a drink!” Jasper opened his mouth to sweeten the deal with an even wider smile. “What do you say?”

Lexa couldn’t help but be entertained by this clueless boy’s antics. “Thank you very much, Jasper,” she replied with a smirk, “but I’ll have to pass. Nice goggles.”

His shoulders dropped as he shouted after her. “Maybe next time then!” Jasper flinched when he heard the beginnings of a sad, slow clap. He turned around to see his friend Monty trying to hold back laughter.

“That was good. You almost had her convinced you weren’t a total creep!” Monty ducked away quickly to avoid Jasper’s swinging fist.

“Oh-ho-ho, creep? Take that!” They wrestled like two pups until one of them knocked over the granola shelf.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone traveling over the holidays? Don't you wish these guys actually worked at the airport? Haha, me too...me too.
> 
> Tumblr: bu-bumblr  
> https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I know you're all here for Clexa, and I will deliver. But I think it’s important we don’t forget that Clarke is bisexual.

The first day of their three-day trip they had an early morning, two legs, and a 19 hour overnight. So that meant Clarke and her crew had all day and most of the night once they got to Baltimore. All day and night to get into trouble. First thing everyone wanted to do when they got to the hotel was take a nap. The second thing they wanted to do was get some food and drinks.

Kane suggested a nearby bar and grille that they could walk to that wouldn’t require much exertion; they decided to meet up in the hotel lobby at 4PM, giving Clarke about 5 hours to sleep, relax, play on her phone, and, if she was being honest with herself, think about Gate Agent Lexa. She really wanted to see her again. Clarke wouldn’t be back at the Kansas City airport for three days, and there was no guarantee she would be around at that time. After subtly gathering whatever information she could about Lexa from Octavia, since Octavia had experienced a nearly 6-hour delay with Lexa the day before, Clarke found out she was new to Polaris. She had been working a little over a month, and Anya had been in charge of training her. Octavia also mentioned that Lexa prefers to work the early morning shifts. Clarke felt like a slight stalker, checking her schedule for the rest of the month to see how many morning flights she had. She found two trips that started before noon, which made her very excited.

Four o’clock came soon enough, and Clarke was starving as her entire crew made their way to the restaurant. “Nice shoes,” Finn pointed to Clarke’s uniform heels.

“Thanks! Nice cargo shorts,” she laughed. “I forgot to pack extra shoes; what’s your excuse?” Finn shrugged, not playing into her ridicule.

Once inside the bar and grille, they sat down with their menus, and both Finn and Kane immediately ordered beers. Octavia opted for an iced tea to start with.

“Come on, princess,” Finn insisted, “order a beer! You know you want to.”

Clarke shook her head but finally conceded, “Fine, I’ll have a beer. But I’d like a water too, please,” she asked the waitress.

While the waitress delivered the drinks and everyone looked through their menus, Kane decided, “I’m going to order an appetizer for the table, what would everyone like?” A few suggestions were thrown out, and they decided on nachos.

Octavia grinned playfully as she held up her glass, “To Sugar Daddy Kane!” Clarke threw her head back in laughter and they all clinked their glasses.

“Thank you for that, Octavia,” Kane smirked. It wasn’t mandatory for the captain to pay for the entire bill or even an appetizer, but you could tell the good captains from the bad ones by the way they cared for their crew. Kane was definitely one of the better ones. If his crew wasn’t happy, he wasn’t happy.

After the nachos were brought out, Octavia ordered a mixed drink, and Finn told the waitress to keep the beers coming; he wanted to try several different kinds. Another fifteen minutes later, everyone was chomping down on their dinner. Clarke ordered another beer about halfway through her burger. Conversation drifted from business to pleasure, and Finn talked about his at-home activity of designing drones. Octavia was pretty interested, having joined the airlines due to an actual desire to learn about things that fly; Kane was also fairly impressed with Finn’s hobby. Clarke was fine just listening and enjoying the company of her crew. Soon Kane and Finn were so engrossed in talking about airplanes and pilot contract nonsense that Octavia asked for her check and took off back to the hotel to workout. Clarke still had about half a glass of beer and no solid reason to leave. But as she neared the end of her drink, Finn ordered another beer, and Kane decided to call it a night.

Clarke moved to leave as well, but Finn insisted, “Oh, come on! Don’t make me drink alone!” Clarke scrunched her nose with displeasure but gave Finn a smirk and sat back down.

“Alright, fine. I’ll stay.”

Finn slid a wide smile across his face. “Are you going to order another beer?”

“No, two’s my limit,” Clarke glanced around the restaurant to avoid Finn’s persistence.

“No, you have to have another.” He waved the waitress over, “It’s on me.”

Clarke scoffed, and slowly sipped the half pint placed in front of her a few minutes later. “So what else do you do for fun besides build droids?” Clarke asked.

Finn laughed, “They’re drones, not droids. Maybe if my dad’s name was Anakin…” he joked.

Clarke nodded slowly with a polite smile. “Good one.”

Finn continued, “Nah, I don’t do much else. Work, exercise, hangout. This job doesn’t give you much time to do anything else.”

“Yeah,” Clarke agreed.

“What about you? What do you like to do?” Finn asked, bringing his glass of beer to his lips.

Clarke shrugged, “I don’t have too many hobbies, I guess. I like to draw, watch Netflix. I travel quite a bit on my days off.”

“Oh, that’s cool! I don’t travel much. I do enough of that at work,” Finn laughed.

“I love to travel,” Clarke added quietly.

Finn wagged his eyebrows, “Do you have a special someone?”

Clarke nearly threw her head back in surprise, “I haven’t dated in a while, actually…”

Finn nodded, “With this job, it’s so hard. But look at you; you’re a catch. I bet the passengers hit on you all the time.”

“Not really,” Clarke shrugged nonchalantly.

There was a pause, and both took a sip from their drinks. Finn’s brow was knit together in sadness as he stared at the bubbles floating up in his beer, “I’m actually really worried that I’m going to end up like Kane and every other pilot out there.” He tossed a hand in the direction that Kane left. Clarke searched Finn’s face for an explanation, so he continued. “It’s obvious, isn’t it? They’re all suffering from AIDS…Airline,”

“Induced Divorce,” Clarke finished along with Finn. “Yeah, I hear that term that a lot.”

“He just seems so depressed. They all do.” Finn admitted, “I don’t want to end up like that. Alone after a failed marriage. Coming home to an empty house after a long trip. Nobody to love me; no one to be with me.” Clarke couldn’t help the look of sorrow she was giving Finn. She never liked to see people in pain; she always wanted to help, to fix it.

Clarke reached out to pat Finn’s hand lying next to his glass, “Hey, it doesn’t _have_ to turn out that way. You know Bellamy and Gina, right? It’s not always going to be easy. You just have to find the right girl that’s going to stick by you through the nights far away and the weird hours, missed holidays. It’ll require more trust than other relationships, I’d say. But it’s not impossible.” Finn had turned his palm over and was lightly holding onto Clarke’s hand.

“Do you wanna go sit at the bar?” he motioned with a tilt of his head. “Leave the booth for people coming in to eat?” Clarke agreed and they both grabbed their stuff to settle in at the bar. At the end of her third beer, Clarke was feeling the pleasant buzz in her brain. She was loosening up and relaxing into Finn’s occasional touches to her back and arm. Halfway through her fourth beer, Finn’s hand ventured to her thigh, and Clarke put her hand on top of his and held it there.

Finn told a few stories about his adventurous youth, breaking into the middle school gymnasium to play basketball with his friends and impress a few girls. Someone’s older brother had given them alcohol, so he and his friends were sharing the six pack. When they all went to leave, they accidentally set off the alarms, and the cops showed up instantly to question them before they were able to get away. Finn and his friends came up with a story that they saw three 16-year-old kids break in and run off down the street. But when the police questioned Finn, he wasn’t thinking straight and said that he saw sixteen 3-year-old’s break into the school and run off. All his friends were laughing, and by then end, Clarke was laughing too. It _was_ quite ridiculous.

At the fifth beer, Clarke knew better. And she knew she knew better. But something in her didn’t care anymore. And she went ahead and had a sixth beer. Finn was on his seventh. And their conversation was becoming more and more juvenile. They were laughing at each other, poking each other, and whispering close to each other’s ears. Clarke was enjoying the excitement of flirting and being unashamedly playful that she didn’t stop to think about anything other than what was right in front of her.

Finn leaned over at one point and gave Clarke a peck on the cheek. She smiled back at him and returned the peck. He was being so sweet and gentle with her, and he finally suggested that they call it a night. Clarke agreed, squared away her tab, and together they stumbled back across the street to their hotel. In the elevator, Finn hung an arm over Clarke’s shoulders and planted a kiss on top of her head. “Thank you for coming out and having fun with me tonight.”

Clarke leaned back to look up at him, “It was fun,” she agreed. She continued staring up at him, and he didn’t hesitate to quickly push a kiss to her lips. His eagerness momentarily surprised her but soon Clarke was pushing back just as hard. Then the elevator doors opened, and they hurriedly stepped out onto their floor. Clarke reached for Finn’s hand as they walked down the hallway toward her room.

Finn leaned in close to Clarke’s ear, “Can I come in for a bit?” Clarke didn’t acknowledge his question and pulled him by the arm past the threshold of her door as it slammed shut. They were a messy blur of trying to undress themselves and each other. They fell sloppily onto one of the beds in the room as they made out. Clarke was drunk, and she knew she was drunk. But once again, she didn’t care. She needed the release. She could feel him against her, and then there was no stopping herself.

The sex was over relatively quickly, and Clarke passed out almost immediately. She didn’t remember many details. She didn’t even know if she finished. All she knew was that when she woke up, Finn was gone, and she needed a shower.

Something about the whole exchange mixed with her pounding headache made Clarke feel a little nauseous. But she also remembered how small and innocent Finn looked last night, like a lost puppy who needed a momma. And Clarke felt as though she could take care of him, if only for a night. Conversation had quickly turned to sex after her fifth drink. She couldn’t help it! It had been a long time since she felt so relaxed, and the opportunity was wide open. Still, she felt the uncertainty and regret people often feel after they’ve done something wrong. She didn’t know Finn that well. She knew he was silly and immature and goofy, and hey, maybe that’s what she needed last night. So, after Clarke woke up, laid in bed staring at the ceiling, took a shower, and went back to bed to search her phone and find out where she could order some food, she felt like she was in a good place regarding Finn. It was just a fun, crazy night that she would soon forget.

As if right on cue, her phone whistled with a text from Finn. “Hey.” Clarke paused, staring at the word, thumbs hovering over the keypad. She put it aside, called for Chinese delivery, and forgot about his text for almost an hour.

Suddenly, in the middle of a commercial for Beneful dog food, she remembered and texted back, “Hey.”

A few seconds later, “What’s up?”

“Just eating my Chinese. I was starving.”

“Can I come over? ;)”

“To talk?”

“Yeah talk…and stuff”

“I’m going to finish eating my food first, unless you want some? I ordered quite a bit.”

A couple minutes later, he wrote back, “That’s okay. Let me know when you’re done”

After she finished eating, Clarke didn’t want to text Finn. She just wanted an easy, stress-free afternoon before their workday started, and she knew inviting him over would further complicate things. But her conscience soon got the best of her, and she reasoned that it would be better to talk about this now than hold it off. Besides, she had been in her room all morning, and it was beginning to feel like a prison cell.

“I’m done eating now,” she texted him. For ten minutes, she didn’t hear anything back, and she was beginning to feel a little bit off the hook. But then her phone whistled.

“How do you feel about last night?”

Clarke frowned at her phone. She didn’t want to have this conversation over text. Actually, she didn’t want to have this conversation at all. It was a drunk, one-night thing. It didn’t need to mean anything more. “I don’t know. How do you feel?” Another several minutes passed.

“I really liked it and I want to do it again

Can I come over?”

It had been several minutes and Clarke was beginning to think she wouldn’t text him back at all. Then there was a knock. She slowly got up to answer the door. Finn was standing pitifully in the doorway, head down, hands behind his back. When she opened the door, he lifted his head with sad eyes and brought a plastic flower out from around his back to hand to Clarke.

“Did you steal this from the hallway vase?” Clarke accused, trying not to be amused.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. Clarke stepped aside for him to enter, and he sat down on the nearest bed before continuing. “I feel like I’ve messed something up. Are you mad at me?”

Clarke furrowed her brow and sat down next to him on the bed. “Finn…” she started. “I’m not mad at you. I’m confused.”

“Confused about what?” he pleaded.

Clarke tossed her hands up, she didn’t know what was going on, “I just- I don’t know. What do you want me to say?”

“Are you upset about what happened last night?” he didn’t let her answer. “Because last night meant a lot to me, and…” his voice trailed off.

Clarke brought an arm up to Finn’s hunched shoulders. “Well, hey. We didn’t talk about it, so let’s talk about it. Tell me what you’re feeling.”

Finn nodded his head. “I really like you, Clarke. And I’m not just messing around. I wanna see where this goes. I wanna hold your hand and take you out on dates. I wanna kiss you when I wake up in the morning.” Finn reached for Clarke’s hand. It wasn’t an unwelcome gesture, and there was no reason for her to pull away, so Clarke let him play with her fingers. “We make a good team, don’t you think?”

Clarke still didn’t know what to say. She nodded a couple times.

“I’ve definitely had better though,” a smile slowly spread across his face. “I’ll have to teach you a few more things.” Clarke whipped her hand away and punched his arm playfully.

“Jerk,” she said, smiling.

Finn went serious again. “For real though, Clarke. I wanna try this with you. You’re amazing and beautiful, and when I’m with you, I feel less alone. I feel like the weight of the world has been lifted from my shoulders.” He took her hand again. She stared down at their entwined fingers and pulled away after a few seconds. “What about you?” he finally asked. “Tell me what you’re feeling.”

Clarke took a deep breath and stared off in the distance, “Honestly? I’m worried about the fact that we work together. This can be tricky, Finn.” She paused, “So I think we should take it slow, not jump into anything too fast. I’ve never dated someone I work with.”

“Is that a yes?” Finn raised his eyebrows in question.

“I would be willing to try this.” She nodded. Finn’s smile overtook his face as he leaned in to kiss her. It was a quick kiss, and after they parted, Clarke spoke again. “But for now, you need to go so I can get ready.” Finn leaned in to kiss her again.

“You still have 45 minutes until the van leaves,” he mumbled against her. “We could use that time to our advantage,” he reached a hand around her waist and kissed her neck. Clarke squirmed away and stood up.

“We’re taking it slow, remember?” Finn pretended to pout and moseyed to the door. “Bye,” Clarke said as she followed him to the door. He spun around, kissed her again, and was gone.

***

“Were you with Finn last night?” Octavia asked Clarke suddenly.

Clarke whipped her head around. They were standing in the galley, while the plane taxied out for takeoff. “What?”

Octavia startled at Clarke’s shocked behavior. “Last night,” she repeated, “Did you guys hangout at the bar?”

“Uh, yeah. We did.”

Octavia nodded knowingly. “Uh-huh. And?”

Clarke’s did her best not to meet Octavia’s eyes. She shrugged in what she hoped was a nonchalant manner.

“Are you okay?” Octavia eyed her suspiciously.

“No, no, I’m fine. It’s just…it’s stupid.” Octavia gave her another look. Clarke conceded with a flash of guilt, “We slept together.”

Octavia’s jaw fell open and she whispered, “I knew it!”

Clarke sighed deeply. “I was super drunk, but it was fun. I just-it’s…I don’t know.” Clarke stared at her shoes. “He seems to genuinely like me.”

Octavia gave her a moment. “Is there someone else?” Clarke snapped her head up, searching Octavia’s face for a reason she might think that.

“No, th-” she shook her head as if trying to remove her own thoughts. “Finn is sweet, and he says he wants more…” Then Clarke gathered her thoughts and spoke more rapidly. “I’m just worried since we work together, and he’s a _pilot_. This could end badly. And if we have to work together in the future, it’ll be…I don’t know. I’m just not sure it’s such a good idea.” Clarke looked off in the distance. “He _is_ cute though…”

Octavia chuckled, “Well, if you like him, it really shouldn’t matter. I would just take it slow and whatever happens, happens.”

“That’s kind of what I told him.” Just then Clarke felt the plane make a sharp turn toward the runway, and she sped off to take her seat. “We’ll talk about this later,” she hushed toward Octavia.

***

When they got to their hotel in Bangor, Clarke invited Finn to her room, and they talked for hours. Clarke needed to get to know him; she needed to know if she truly wanted this. They talked about how Finn got into aviation, their common friends in the industry, their favorite TV shows. Clarke realized they didn’t have much in common, but she liked having someone warm next to her who cared and took an interest. Everything felt less lonely. And as she was falling asleep against the headboard, Finn was kissing her neck and whispering sweet nothings into her ear. It felt nice. But it wasn’t too long before she was walking Finn to her hotel room door and giving him a kiss goodnight. It was a sweet kiss, full of hope and promises.

The following afternoon, when they were home again, Finn asked Clarke to grab dinner the next night. When she agreed, Finn pumped his fist in the air a few times. The gesture made her giggle. But something hadn’t left her mind all week. And Clarke saw no sign of Lexa in the gate area before they exited security.


	8. Chapter 8

It had been about a week since Clarke’s trip with Finn that sparked things between the two of them. They were hanging out almost every night, and despite their differences and his occasional immaturity, Clarke was liking this boy more and more. He had such an exciting outlook on life, so during the moments when they weren’t talking about the details of their relationship, they had quite a bit of fun. Finn seemed so wild and free that it helped Clarke forget about her own life’s woes. And she was starting to tell people that they were dating, which made it feel more real.

During her next trip with Miller, he was catching Clarke up with his new crush: TSA Brian. “I’m _pretty_ sure he’s into me,” Miller insisted. “He calls me out for a ‘not-so-random’ pat-down every time I go through his line.” Clarke laughed at the excited suspicion in her friend’s face.

“Next time he pats you down, you should tell him to take you out to dinner first,” Clarke suggested with a wry smile.

Miller scoffed, “That’s so lame. So lame…it _just_ might work.” He looked off in the distance pretending to contemplate the idea. Then he returned his attention to Clarke with an easy smile. “So, what about you?”

She crinkled her nose and gave a shy smile, “I’ve actually kind of been seeing someone lately. Finn. He’s a pilot, based here.”

Miller nodded, “Oh yeah, I know that guy.” He scrunched his face and cocked his head in curiosity, “Doesn’t he have a fiancée?”

Clarke threw her head back in shock and raised her eyebrows, “Uhh…no?”

Miller sucked in between his teeth, “Yeah, I’m pretty sure he does. Finn Collins?”

“Yeah…” Clarke eyed him hesitantly.

Miller continued, “I saw him, like, a month ago, on one of my flights. He and his fiancée were traveling together to Key West for a couple days.” Clarke was enraged; he could see it in her eyes. “I’m sorry, Clarke; you should probably text him. Maybe I’m wrong.”

An hour and a half later, their plane was on the ground and Clarke was furiously texting Finn. She didn’t want to attack him right away, because like Miller said, maybe he was wrong. But something had felt off from the start. She knew it.

“Do you have a fiancée?”

Finn called Clarke’s phone, but she was still on a plane full of passengers, so she rejected it. She texted him again.

“Do you have a fiancée?”

“Can we meet up somewhere and talk about this?”

“Wow,” Clarke scoffed aloud. Then she sent another text.

“Answer the question Finn”

She needed an answer, and she needed it now. She was starting to feel scared.

“Are you on a trip right now? Can we talk about this?

I’ll fly to wherever your overnight is.”

Clarke was only getting angrier, seconds away from blocking his number and never talking to him, never looking at him, again. “And what? Share the hotel room in the meantime? Just give me an answer.”

“She and I have an arrangement,” he finally said.

Clarke sighed deeply, and felt hot tears pooling. “Shouldn’t I have at least been allowed to be aware of this arrangement? Don’t act like you didn’t have plenty of opportunities to tell me”

“Please hear me out”

“Admit that you were using me for your own selfish benefit and playing with my emotions.” Clarke put her phone down. Over the next few hours, Finn sent several texts and tried to call multiple times, but Clarke ignored them all. She didn’t even read the texts.

The next day, having admitted to Miller that he was right about Finn having a fiancée and accepting his comforting hugs, Clarke finally messaged Finn after seeing his latest text scan across the top of her screen, “I just have so much love for so many women.” She rolled her eyes, _oh wow…_

“But some you love more, right?” she replied. There was no response for several minutes, so she added, “So how is that fair?”

“Well, the one I love more is you!”

“No.” That was all she said. And it was done.

***

Weeks later, trudging through the terminal to line up for security, Clarke spotted Raven in the distance. She was sandwiched between the wall and some guy who had his arm resting above her head. They seemed to be flirting, and when Clarke looked closer, she saw that it was Finn who had her friend pinned against the wall. Rage ran through her veins as she whipped out her phone to shoot off a text to Raven, hoping it wasn’t too late for her.

“Careful Rae, he has a fiancée. I found out the hard way.”

Raven doesn’t reply until Clarke is on the plane and the passengers have started boarding, “Who does? Finn?”

“Yes”

 “What!! For real?! When will you be in town again? We need to hangout ASAP”

“I’ll be back tomorrow afternoon. You free?”

“Your place or mine?”

***

A little over 24 hours later, Raven and Clarke found themselves sitting on the floor in Clarke’s apartment, junk food littered across the room. “I was so stupid,” Clarke confessed.

“No, no. Don’t do that. It’s not your fault when people lie to you, Clarke.” Raven tilted her head toward her friend.

“I know. But at the same time, I knew. I knew before Miller ever said anything. I was only giving him a chance because I was lonely. And he was lonely. And I wanted to fix him.” Clarke looked down at her glass of wine. “Why do I always feel like I’m responsible for everyone?” Raven shook her head. “I just feel so messed up. Maybe _I’m_ the bad guy here, like I was enabling him or something...”

“You’re not. Honestly, Clarke, you’re not. I think you’re just young and figuring out life. We’re all trying to do the same thing.” Raven shrugged. “It can get messy.” Clarke gave her a sad half-smile.

“Thanks for coming over tonight and for bringing chocolate. Sorry I made you watch Netflix,” she laughed.

Raven shook her head, “It’s fine. You rescued me yesterday from potential heartache. It’s the least I could do.” They sat in silence for a moment.

Clarke dropped her head to the armrest, “I still feel blue…”

“Alright,” Raven announced, “I’m intervening now. Time to take you where I go when I need to blow off some steam.” She offered her a hand.

“I’m frightened,” Clarke admitted, crouching down into the couch.

About 15 minutes later, Clarke was sitting in the passenger seat of Raven’s car, “Where are you taking me?”

“We’re almost there,” Raven assured. “And lucky for us, this place stays open pretty late.” The car pulled into a mostly abandoned parking lot, but the flood lights were bright enough for Clarke to see where they were.

“The driving range? What in the world?”

“Not the driving range. The batting cages!” Clarke looked at Raven skeptically. “Trust me!” she pushed Clarke’s shoulder as she climbed out of the car. “This is where I go when I need to release frustration and quiet my mind. And yes…I do have a frequent visitor pass.”

“I may be too drunk for this.”

“Nonsense!” Raven equipped Clarke with a bat and some quarters, slid her own card into the machine, and started whacking away.

At first, Clarke only swung at air, but after her first connection of ball on bat, she couldn’t help the excited scream. And she hit more and more, harder and farther. And by the end of her first round, she was panting through a big smile. “This feels so good!” She screamed into the cold night air before searching out more quarters.

Raven smirked as she knocked a ball into the opposite net, “I told ya!”

They stayed in the cages for another half hour before retreating to the hood of the car to stare out at the field in front of them. “What about you, Raven? How’s your love life?”

“Pfft, what love life?” Raven grinned in spite of herself. “I don’t need one. Lookit what it did to you,” she gestured at Clarke sitting hunched over her knees.

“Oh, shut it,” she reached out to push Raven’s face away. But Raven just pulled on Clarke’s arm until she was close enough to force her in for a hug.

“I’m never getting involved with someone at work ever again, do you hear me?” Clarke mumbled into Raven’s shoulder.

“I hear ya, Clarke.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr: bu-bumblr
> 
> I want to hear your comments! They make my day!
> 
> Anyone else think Raven would be a total baseball fan? She looks the part anyway.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clexa! Masper, Ranya. Harmonty? Memori? Some of these ship names...I just don't know.  
>  The point is, love is in the air. And on the ground.
> 
> Read it.  
> Enjoy it.  
> Go visit your local airport. Haha jk, those places are awful and we know it.

Before her next early morning flight, Clarke found herself in line at Jasper’s coffee shop. She was still in such a morning daze that it took her a minute to realize the interesting character study playing out in front of her. She was mainly focused on Jasper’s large grin. His smile displayed his happiness, but his eyes betrayed his sincerity. Clarke knew from their few interactions that Jasper was an easy flirt. Anything in leggings held his attention, if only briefly. But there was something different happening between him and the girl standing in front of Clarke. _Young love,_ she thought. _It’s exciting and scary… Try as you might to replace thoughts of full lips and half smiles, honest green eyes and long, beautiful, fragrant hair. You…just can’t._

Clarke was prompted by her own romantic daydream to scan the area to see if she could spot Lexa at a gate. When she turned back around, she realized the girl had already walked away. “Oh, sorry!” she stepped forward.

But Jasper, too, was caught up in a reverie, looking after the girl who had apparently stolen his heart in mere seconds. Monty, who was standing off in the corner, sipping on his free coffee, cleared his throat.

“Uh, yeah! Yes? Clarke, what can I do for you?” Jasper’s eyes were still trained on the young girl. Clarke followed his eyes to see that she was glancing back at him, too. He extended a silly wave in her direction, and Clarke finally interrupted the love-induced stupor.

“Good morning, Jasper,” she greeted. “Monty, how’s it going?”

“It’s going,” the young man sighed. “Just enjoying the show quietly,” he mused.

“And the silence is broken,” Jasper rolled his eyes at his friend. “What can I get you, Clarke?” he asked cheerfully.

“I’ll have a chocolate muffin,” she smiled. As Jasper prepared her muffin, Clarke looked to Monty again. “Don’t you work IT? I always see you over here behind the counter.”

“There’s never too much to do, so I come harass this guy,” Monty explained. “My goal,” he pushed off the counter to approach Clarke, “is to get him fired. See, he’s stuck in a rut.” Monty pretended to be whispering, but was well within earshot of an increasingly annoyed Jasper. “This kid has a lot of potential but no motivation. Look at him,” Monty waved a hand, “There’re hidden passions and a fierce diligence beyond the mop and bucket before you. He just needs a little fire under his belly and he’ll thank me in a few yea-“

Jasper shoved Monty’s head to the side as he handed Clarke her bag. “That’ll be $2.10, my one and only friend in this world,” he side-eyed Monty who pretended to be offended.

“As I was saying,” Monty added as Clarke was preparing to leave, “he’ll thank me in a few years. Hopefully sooner.” Monty brushed his fingertips under Jasper’s chin, and a gangly arm smacked his hand away.

“Good luck to the both of you,” Clarke smiled at Monty and winked at Jasper. She had only taken a few steps when she ran into another flight attendant. “Hey, Harper! Are we working together?” she asked, readjusting the bag in her hand.

“Hey, Harper!” repeated Monty’s voice before she could answer.

Harper smiled excitedly and nodded toward the boy, “Hey guys!” There was an awkward silence that erupted between the four of them. Monty clearly wanted to say more, and Harper was waiting expectantly, so it was Clarke and Jasper’s turn to sit back and enjoy the strange connection happening between their friends.

Clarke blinked from Harper to Monty and back before chuckling, “Okay, see you guys later.”

“Come hangout with us again soon!” Monty shouted after Clarke, who disappeared with Harper into the crowded terminal.

Approaching the gate, Clarke’s heart fluttered, and her stomach twisted when she saw Lexa’s proud figure come into view. She knew she shouldn’t be this nervous since she didn’t know anything about this woman. But nevertheless, when Lexa looked up, and their eyes met, Clarke was speechless.

“Good morning, Clarke,” Lexa said calmly. “And, Harper McIntyre?”

Harper nodded, holding up her badge, “Yep, that’s me!”

Lexa inspected it and nodded back. “How are you ladies this morning?” Lexa tried not to make direct eye contact with Clarke even though she wanted to. She must remain professional. Looking would lead to staring; staring would lead to being lost in a fantasy.

“Good,” they said in unison.

“What does the load look like this morning?” Clarke asked Lexa; it’s easier to talk business. But now that they were looking at each other again, Clarke felt her neck heating up.

Reading from her computer screen, Lexa informed them, “We’re full. One wheelchair, and two lap children.” She turned to the two girls and asked, “Who’s working up front today?”

“I’ll do it,” Clarke responded, almost too anxiously.

“Here’s the paperwork for you,” Lexa handed Clarke the half-sheet and hurried to open the jet bridge door. “I’ll be down in a second,” she assured, as a line formed in front of her podium.

Down at the plane, Clarke was startled to see Finn standing in the galley. Her blood boiled and her fists tightened.

“Hey Clarke,” he said softly, eyebrows knit together in sadness.

“…Hey.” Clarke said coldly, not looking at him as she pushed past to place her bags in the overhead.

After Captain Deek’s crew briefing to discuss flight time, code words, turbulence, etc., Harper and Clarke got to work on their safety checks. All was good until Clarke checked the forward lavatory and saw a tamper evident seal had been removed. She immediately informed Deek, and he set to work on calling maintenance.

“Should be fine, right?” Clarke asked. “It’s just a matter of replacing the sticker?”

Deek, who had the phone to his ear, bobbed his head from side to side and squinted one side of his face.

She sighed. “I’m going to go let the gate agent know.” About halfway up the jet bridge, Clarke saw Lexa opening the door to come down. “Hey,” Clarke called out. “Looks like we might have a _slight_ maintenance delay.” Lexa nodded, seemingly un-phased, and continued to march forward. “One of the lavatory seals is broken. Deek’s calling maintenance, but you can come down and talk to him if you’d like.” Lexa was walking slower as she approached Clarke and now stood in front of her.

“Yeah, let’s go see what he says,” Lexa agreed. “We may be able to board up anyway if it’s a quick fix.”

“You trying to pawn them off on me, Lexa?” Clarke asked playfully.

“No,” Lexa glanced over with a small smile, “not entirely…” Clarke giggled, making Lexa’s smile widen.

The two girls stood at the cockpit door waiting for Deek’s decision with minimum distance between their shoulders. When he finished the call, Clarke leaned toward the cockpit door to both hear better and close the distance. At the first brush of Clarke’s body, Lexa stiffened but made no effort to reestablish her footing. They stood pressed together, trying to control their breathing, while Deek explained the situation.

“Maintenance is coming up with another seal, and we have to call in a TSA agent to re-perform a security check.” Clarke and Lexa nodded as Harper pushed herself up behind them to hear as well. “We’re gonna hold off boarding since there’s no telling yet how long this will take.”

“Okay,” Lexa said, “Is there an approximate time that we can start boarding?”

Deek sighed and looked at his watch, doing the estimation in his head, “No more than 20 minutes is my guess. That all depends on TSA though.” Lexa nodded and shifted between Clarke and Harper to step away. “I’ll update you as soon as it’s okay to board and try to give you as much warning as possible,” Deek added.

“Okay, thanks,” Lexa said as the three girls separated from their tight gathering at the cockpit door. Lexa looked to Clarke, momentarily letting herself appreciate their proximity. But staring leads to fantasies. She shook her head, the smallest of movements, “I’m going to go make some announcements for the passengers; I may have to re-book a couple people if we can’t make this fast.”

Clarke nodded in affirmation, “Okay, come back down soon as you can.” Lexa stared earnestly into Clarke’s eyes, and a nervous blonde head nodded again.

A few minutes later, Clarke saw a familiar face appear from the main cabin entrance, “Raven!” Clarke sprinted for a hug. “How’s it going?”

“Oh, just great,” Raven laughed, pulling away from their embrace. “I’ve got a shiny sticker for you!” She wiggled a page of tamper seals, ready to be replaced.

“So pretty!” Clarke grinned playfully, pawing at the page.

Then Raven unexpectedly leaned into Clarke’s side and whispered breathlessly, “Good gracious, did you see the gate agent up there?” Raven fanned herself with the seals in her hand. “So hot. Aye _mami_ , that’s a good-looking woman!” she laughed.

Clarke raised her brow in surprise before she started laughing aloud, “Oh geez, we seem to have the same type, Raven. I have been crushing on Lexa for _weeks_!” she hushed.

Raven stepped back, confused, “ _Lexa_? No, I think her name is Anya,” she whispered.

“Oh! Anya!” Clarke suddenly knew exactly who Raven was talking about, and the relief on her face was clear.

“Yeah, Anya.” Raven nodded eagerly, wagging her eyebrows.

Clarke laughed again, “She’s all yours, Rae. _I’ll_ take Lexa.”

The two friends stood snickering with each other until Deek emerged from the cockpit a few seconds later. “You got the seals here now?” he asked, seeing the page of seals in her hand. “We’re just waiting on TSA to show up, then you can seal her back up.”

“Sounds good, boss!” Raven said with a smile. “I’ll start filling out the maintenance sheet so it’s ready to go when he gets here.”

“Sounds good!” Deek nodded and stood awkwardly for a moment before retreating to the cockpit.

Clarke and Raven chatted while she filled out the report, and soon Lexa and Anya appeared from the jet bridge.

“Hey guys,” Raven pushed to her feet quickly to greet them. “Any sign of TSA? We’re just waiting on them.”

Lexa stood impassive, glancing at Clarke while Anya replied, “We’ve called the supervisor three times, and he says he’ll get someone down here as soon as he can.”

“Any idea of when that’ll be?” Raven grinned before adding, “Not that I mind the time we’re getting to spend together...”

Anya ignored Raven’s implication and instead answered, “He wouldn’t say.”

Lexa added, “Pike likes to make things harder than necessary.”

“Does he not understand that the people won’t have a plane to ride in once they reach the other side of security if he doesn’t send someone down here?” Clarke scoffed.

“That would be thinking too far ahead now, wouldn’t it?” Lexa responded sarcastically, making Clarke chuckle. “In the meantime, do you guys need ice or anything? Where’s Harper?”

“She’s in the back, playing on her phone right now. We don’t need anything except maybe a glass of wine and a couch while we wait,” Clarke smiled and looked over to Raven for additional agreement.

Lexa responded quickly, “Well hey, if you’d be more comfortable you can wait in the employee break room. It’s only a few gates down. I’ll give you the code.” Anya gave Lexa a stern look. She knew flight crew weren’t supposed to use those break rooms.

“Oh, no,” Clarke smiled gratefully, “That’s okay.”

“Do you want me to get you some coffee then?” Lexa offered.

“No, thank you; that’s okay,” Clarke said again. Her smile lingered along with Lexa’s. Anya seemed to notice this and slightly rolled her eyes.

“I’m going to call TSA one more time. Maybe more pestering is what they need.” Anya turned to leave.

“A woman who won’t back down. I like it.” Raven said while Anya was still within earshot.

Lexa remained only a few seconds more before saying, “I’ll go check on the passengers.” Then she followed Anya’s trail out the main cabin door.

In the jet bridge, Anya slowed her gait so Lexa could catch up with her. “Well that was hard to watch…”

Lexa knit her brow in confusion, “What was?”

“You flirting all over Clarke. Get a room,” she smirked playfully.

Lexa gawked, “Hey!”

“I’m just saying, you were making it a very obvious in there. Be sure to leave a little mystery to yourself before you start inviting her into the break room and feeding her coffee.”

Lexa shoved Anya’s arm, “I wasn’t the only one flirting in there, you know.”

“Me??” Anya looked aghast. “I wasn’t-“

“Raven,” Lexa smiled. “She was all over you.” Anya gave her a blank stare. “You didn’t see it?” Lexa laughed. “Oh, wow…”

It was Anya’s turn to shove her.

At the gate, when Anya and Lexa opened the jet bridge door, there was a TSA agent standing at the podium. “How long have you been waiting here?” Anya demanded.

“Uh,” the young man shifted, “a couple minutes…There was no one here, so I was just waiting.” Anya turned and gave Lexa a look of annoyance mixed with regret.

“Well, get down there.” She signaled him through the doorway after checking his ID.

Lexa turned to Anya, “Follow him down there for me. Let me know the minute we can start boarding. I’ll prepare everyone up here and ask for a couple more volunteers to check bags so we can board as quick as possible.” Anya nodded and sped off.

In the meantime, Lexa had another call to make. She waited a couple of rings before a man’s voice answered, “This is Pike.”

“Pike, hello. This is Lexa at gate 51. I wa-“

“I already sent someone down to the aircraft, miss,” he huffed derogatorily.

“Yes, he just arrived. But we’ve been waiting for almost 20 minutes. And I-“

“Okay,” he interrupted again.

“AND I would like to request TSA walkie frequency so that next time he doesn’t spend 2 minutes, of the 20 we’ve already been waiting, just standing at the jet bridge door,” Lexa finished.

“Uhh…” Pike chuckled. “I don’t think so. Lexa, that frequency is secure, and I intend to keep it that way. There are other ways to communicate with our department.”

“The communication is failing, if you haven’t noticed. Pike.” Lexa replied.

“You got the man down there; let’s not waste more time getting these passengers where they want to go.”

“I’m trying to ensure that exact same thing in the future. And you will cooperate,” Lexa said before hanging up the phone. If Pike wouldn’t simply give her access to the frequency that all TSA agents operated on, then she would have to come up with another solution. But for now, she focused on preparing the passengers.

While she was tagging a checked bag for her third volunteer, Anya emerged from the jet way. “They’re good to start boarding. They just have a little more paperwork they’re going to fill out before it’s done. So send them on down.”

Lexa immediately handed the passenger their bag tag and grabbed the interphone. “Okay, ladies and gentlemen, we’re going to start boarding for Polaris Airlines flight 788 to Houston here out of gate 51.”

Ten minutes later, every passenger was on the plane except for a family of four. “I’m going to make sure no more bags need to be checked,” she said to Anya. “Can you page them again and close the door if they’re not here in 3 minutes?”

“Yep,” Anya nodded, typing away at the computer, preparing to print the final paperwork if they didn’t show.

Lexa hurried to the plane. “Do any more bags need to be checked?” she asked Clarke.

Clarke squinted down the aisle, “No, it doesn’t look like it.”

Lexa looked down the aisle, too, “We’re waiting on a family now, do you think there will be room for their bags?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Clarke assured.

“Okay, great,” Lexa took a breath but didn’t leave. She pulled out the walkie talkie from her belt, “Gustus, that’s all the bags, you can shut it up.” That’s when FO Finn emerged from the cockpit for the first time since his walk-around nearly half an hour ago. Clarke angled away from him instinctually.

“So, I finally got my transfer,” he said aloud. Clarke turned to him and nodded politely. “Yep, going to be going to Chicago.” When Clarke said nothing, he added, “I bet that makes you one happy gal, huh?”

Lexa looked to Clarke for answers, but Clarke just looked at the floor with raised eyebrows. “Congratulations, Finn,” she finally said as he stepped past her into the lav.

Lexa glanced back to Clarke, who now stared down the aisle. She didn’t need to know their history to see that Clarke was upset. When Clarke hazarded a glance toward Lexa, she was met with a pointed look. “Long story,” she answered with an exhausted eye roll.

“I’d like to hear it some time,” Lexa offered.

Clarke smiled coyly, “Don’t worry, it has a happy ending. Apparently, the bad guy moves to Chicago.” Lexa returned the smirk.

At that, a family of four bustled onto the plane, 6 bags in tow and Anya trailing behind. Clarke jumped to rearrange extra overhead space while Lexa accepted the paperwork before Anya rushed off to greet a plane at another gate.

“Two empty seats,” Lexa announced as she handed Clarke the final paperwork. The girls waited at the entryway while Harper filled in the weight and balance form. Lexa turned to Clarke again, “I saw you talking to Monty earlier. Are you friends?”

Clarke didn’t hide her surprise at the seemingly random question, “Uh, yeah. He’s a friend.” She didn’t understand where Lexa was going with this. “Why?”

“Are you close?” Lexa asked. Clarke furrowed her brow. _Was she interested in him? First Harper, now Lexa??_ “I would like his help on a project I’m working on. Do you think he’d be willing?”

Clarke let out a breath, “Oh,” she nodded. “I’m sure he would. What kind of project?”

“I would like to develop an app for the Polaris employees, sort of streamline all the various departments. It would be downloaded on their phones, but I’ll need a great deal of technical help,” Lexa explained. “And since Monty works IT stuff for us…”

“He would be great!” Clarke said quickly. She didn’t know Monty extremely well, but if Lexa wanted his help, Clarke would do all she could to make it happen. “I think that’s a really good idea.”

Lexa nodded her thanks. “I’m also looking into updating the computer systems; but realistically speaking, that may be a far more long-term project.” While she was speaking, Gustus shuffled onto the aircraft with the cargo load sheet to hand to the pilots. Lexa continued, “Also, Gustus is helping me design the app to cater to the ramp as much as possible.” She gestured to him, and he grunted his affirmation. “We could do something like that with the flight crew? I would just need an afternoon or two of your time.”

“I would be more than happy to help out! I don’t have a lot of computer experience, but if I can do anything…” Clarke shrugged. She was Lexa’s open book, should she need it.

“Absolutely. Thank you,” Lexa nodded sincerely. “Like I said, you could mention the idea to Monty, or send him my way and I’ll speak with him.”

“I bet Raven would be good, too,” Clarke suggested. “She loves a challenge.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Lexa smiled. By that time, Harper was done with her count, and Deek had all the paperwork he needed.

“Good to close!” he shouted from the cockpit. She passed the paperwork off to Lexa and awkwardly waved goodbye.

“See you around, Clarke,” Lexa said just before Clarke swung the door closed. After she latched it and cued Harper to do the same with the rear doors, Clarke took a deep breath. _Well, I think that went well._ She smiled to herself. There was some hope in the future there, and Clarke gave herself a moment to enjoy the feeling.

She and Harper finished their short safety demo, and when Clarke reached for the final paperwork to pin to the bulkhead wall, she saw a little note. In elegant handwriting, it read, “Have a safe flight :)” Clarke’s grin spread to her ears. The smiley face seemed slightly out of character for the commonly stoic and professional attitude of the new Polaris gate agent, but to Clarke, it made the note all the more special.

***

When Raven finished the necessary maintenance paperwork that morning, she walked the long way through the terminal. Anya had disappeared, and she wanted another glimpse of the exotic looking woman. Sure, Raven had seen Anya before, in passing. But something about their interaction this morning was a game changer for Raven. Perhaps it was Anya’s intricate braids or sexy smolder, or maybe, it was because for the first time since they met, Anya and Raven were both single. They could almost smell the availability on each other without the assured knowledge.

When Raven passed by Anya’s gate, she was typing away at the computer. “Hey, there, stud muffin,” Raven smirked, almost amused by her own confidence.

Anya peeked up at her, then back at her screen. “Stud muffins refer to men. Are you calling me a man?” She rose her eyes again to meet Raven’s. “Because I can assure you, I most definitely am not.”

“I can see you’re not a man,” Raven lifted an elbow to lean against the podium. “But you are, in fact, a stud.” Anya raised a threatening eyebrow, but Raven continued. “And I can tell you are soft and sweet,” she tilted her head back and forth, “like a muffin.” She leaned close to whisper this last word slowly. Anya only held her stare and said nothing as Raven leaned in even closer, “And I love muff…ins.” Raven moved her head away, certain she had made her point.

Anya was searching Raven’s face for any sign of flippancy or jest. Though she perceived no deception, she took a deep breath and returned her attention to the computer. “You’re looking in the wrong place, baby girl.”

Raven let out a quiet laugh and stood up straight to leave, “Okay, okay. I’ll see you around…my stunning muff-“

“Don’t,” Anya warned.

Raven laughed again, backing away, “That’s all.” She held her palms up in surrender. “I’ll see you around.”

When Raven rounded the corner, she glanced once more over her shoulder to see Anya snap her eyes back to the computer screen. Raven smiled, and when Anya looked up again to see Raven had gone, she let a smile creep across her face, as well.

***

Clarke’s bliss lingered all day after her interaction with Lexa early that morning. And later on, in flight, when a young girl stood up to use the lavatory, Clarke recognized her as the girl in line, hitting it off with Jasper. Feeling joyful, and wanting to pass it on, Clarke decided to speak to her. She found out her name was Maya, and she was on a short business trip; she would return to Kansas City tomorrow.

“I noticed you were talking to Jasper at the coffee shop,” Clarke began.

“Oh, yeah!” Maya smiled at his name. “He was so nice.”

“I can tell he likes you, and he really is a sweet guy.”

“Really?” Maya asked excitedly.

“If you want, I can give you his number. You know,” Clarke stumbled, suddenly feeling foolish, “if you, like, want to text him or something when you get home. If that’s weird, you can tell me no. I won’t take it too hard.” Clarke chuckled at herself, and Maya joined in laughing.

“No, no it’s not weird!” Maya rolled her eyes at herself, “I was actually hoping to see him when I land again tomorrow. But what are the odds of that happening? I would have asked for his number earlier, but I was feeling shy and didn’t want to come off too eager maybe?” It was Maya’s turn to laugh at herself.

“No, no. No one is more eager than Jasper. I’ll give you his number. Then at least you’ll have it if you don’t see him again.” Maya thanked her before excusing herself into the restroom. Clarke proceeded to find her phone and copy his number down.

“Thank you again,” Maya said when Clarke handed her a small piece of paper with a phone number and the name Jasper Jordan. “I didn’t know flight attendants could be such matchmakers,” she giggled.

“We can do anything,” Clarke winked. “We can even fly.”

***

Three days later, Clarke’s trip ended a little after noon. When Captain Deek dropped the brake and the jet bridge started approaching the aircraft, Clarke caught sight of the gate agent guiding it in. After a closer look, she saw it was Lexa, but she looked a bit different. She was wearing glasses and had her hair down. Clarke giggled through the porthole before backing up so Lexa could open the main cabin door. Clarke greeted her with a, “Hey there!”

Lexa seemed a bit thrown off at the friendly greeting but recovered by responding, “Hey, Clarke!” equally as cheery. “Any specials?” she asked.

“One wheelchair,” Clarke answered. Lexa nodded before grabbing her walkie talkie. Passengers started deplaning as she overheard Lexa requesting Sky Care assistance at gate 53 for the third time, apparently. Lexa continued to wait on the jet bridge while everyone lugged their bags off the aircraft. There were a few stragglers when she popped into Clarke’s galley.

“The wheelchair is on its way.”

Clarke nodded to Lexa while she bid a gracious farewell to each passing person, “Thank you; goodbye; thank you; take care; have a good day.”

Lexa had taken note of something as she shifted around, “Where’s Finn?”

“Oh,” Clarke angled herself toward Lexa, “he was reassigned yesterday. He’s gone.”

Lexa waited a beat, “Does that mean you can tell me the long story with a happy ending?” Clarke whipped her head around with a scolding smile.

“Maybe…” Then, Clarke focused her attention to the last passenger shuffling toward her. “Your wheelchair isn’t here yet, ma’am, if you’d like to take a seat while we wait for it.” She motioned toward the row in front of her.

Lexa stepped into the jet bridge to see if the Sky Care agent was at least close. She only spotted the airplane cleaner, extra trash bags and spray bottles slung over her arm.

“Hello, Emori,” she nodded. “Did you happen to see a Sky Care agent on their way?”

Emori shook her head back and forth lazily. “No, I didn’t see anyone up there.” She squeezed past Lexa to start collecting trash and realign seatbelts.

Lexa snatched the walkie from her belt again, “I need a wheelchair to gate 53 immediately. The passenger is waiting.” Just then, the door at the top of the jet bridge opened while a young man with floppy hair and a scowl barreled through. “Murphy,” Lexa announced. “You’re late.”

“I’m also the only one working today,” he drawled. “And a man’s gotta eat and rest and take a piss every now and then.”

“You can do all that after you get the job done,” she snapped. As Murphy approached, Lexa continued. “Have you been checking the FlightTrak app like I showed you?”

“Have _you_ been checking the app?” he retorted. _“_ That thing is never accurate.” He sighed as he wheeled past Lexa to park in front of the aircraft door. His demeanor changed only slightly when he addressed the elderly woman waiting on him. “Good afternoon, ma’am. Let me help you with your bags.”

“Actually,” the old woman croaked, “I can walk. The jet bridge isn’t terribly long, is it?”

“No, ma’am,” Murphy sighed. “Are you sure you don’t want any help with your bags?”

“Oh, no. I’m okay,” she said as she began to slowly place one foot in front of the other.

“It would do me great honor if you would let me take you,” Murphy monotoned sarcastically, glancing at Lexa. The elderly woman, not hearing the sarcasm, finally agreed and plopped into the wheelchair.

“Thank you,” the woman breathed.

“My pleasure,” Murphy grumbled, maintaining eye contact with Lexa, who nodded back with no emotion.

“How’s it going?” Clarke popped onto the jet bridge with her bags in tow.

“It’s going well.” Lexa grasped her hands behind her back.

“Is this a new look?” Clarke gestured to Lexa.

“Oh…yeah.” She looked away, a hand reaching up to her wild mane. “I was supposed to be off by now, but I offered to work one more flight for someone who needed to go home early.” Clarke nodded along. “And I was in the middle of redoing my hair when I had to run over here to catch the flight on time…and the glasses are just because my allergies were acting up this morning...” Lexa felt like she was rambling and quickly changed the subject. “How was your trip?”

“It was good,” Clarke began before the rest of her crew joined the girls on the jet bridge. Harper was talking to Finn’s replacement, FO Bellamy.

“No way!” she laughed. “That’s hilarious!” Bellamy giggled behind her, with his shoulders scrunched up.

“Well, you guys,” she looked around, “it’s been real fun. I’m off!” She rolled her bags around Clarke and Lexa with Bellamy still trailing behind her.

“I gotta go catch a flight to Denver now,” he smiled at Clarke as he passed. “I’ll see you around, princess!” Clarke rolled her eyes good-naturedly and punched his arm. Lexa observed Bellamy’s towering figure as he went by.

“Say hello to the little one for me!” Clarke shouted after him.

Deek was the last to get off, “Is the other crew here yet?” he asked Lexa.

“No, not yet,” she said.

“Okay. I’ll power her down then,” Deek disappeared into the cockpit momentarily to turn off the plane.

Clarke and Lexa were alone again in the whirring hallway. Neither wanted to leave, and neither knew what more to say.

“I like the hair,” Clarke finally spoke, continuing their conversation with a grin.

Lexa laughed and shook her head. “It’s a mess, I know.” She reached an arm around and draped it over one shoulder.

“I like it,” Clarke said again.

At that, Deek ducked out the main cabin door behind Emori, and all four of them made their way up to the terminal.

“I want to thank you, Emori” Lexa turned to the girl, “for your punctuality. You’re always on time or early, and I really appreciate that.”

Emori nodded, staring at her feet, “Does that mean I get a raise?” When Lexa searched Emori’s face, she found a cocky smile.

Lexa raised a teasing eyebrow, “Only the knowledge of a job well done.”

Emori twisted her face, “Nah, I’m good.” Focused on the lighthearted interaction between them, Clarke stumbled and caught herself. Lexa appeared to be all business all the time, but it’s moments like this when Clarke felt she would never have Lexa all figured out.

Up at the gate, the group walked into a nearly empty terminal. “When does this plane go out again?” Clarke asked Lexa.

“Not for another three hours,” Lexa replied.

“I’ll see you guys around,” Deek waved. “Nice flying with you, Clarke.”

“Bye!” She said before turning back to Lexa, “Do you have to wait that long until you can go home?”

“No, my next flight is down a few gates. It leaves in an hour. Then I can go home.”

“Oh, okay,” Clarke said, grabbing the handle of her rollerboard. “I guess I’ll take off now.” Her stomach lurched because, really, that was the last thing she wanted to do. She would offer to stay around and keep Lexa company if that wasn’t such a weird proposal.

“I’ll see you around?” Lexa stepped forward eagerly.

“Absolutely,” Clarke nodded once. “I look forward to it.”

“Goodbye, Clarke.” Lexa gave a small nod. When Clarke was a few feet away, Lexa added, “I think I’ll see you in a few days, actually.” Clarke stopped and turned around, joining Lexa in front of her monitor. Lexa typed a few keys and hit Enter. “Yep!” she exclaimed. “Next Wednesday morning, you’re working the early flight to Minneapolis.” She shifted to see Clarke who was standing right next to her. “I’ll be here, somewhere.”

“You can look up the crew on flights?” Clarke asked hesitantly. “Do you…do that a lot?” she gave a suspicious half-smile.

Lexa chose to ignore the implication behind the inquiry and clicked around on the computer, “Mm, sometimes; depends on how far into the future the pairing is. When the company calls about missing items or contact information for whoever is working the flight…it comes in handy.”

“Are you assigned certain flights?” Clarke asked, not moving away to a more suitable conversational distance. “Or do you just show up that morning and jump around from gate to gate?” _Do you ever look up my flight and so you can work it?_ She really wanted to ask.

Lexa paused, her eyes bouncing around Clarke’s face. “Sort of…” she began. “I’m not guaranteed to be working any specific flight, but it’s usually the same routine.” Clarke nodded and pretended to stare at the computer screen. Lexa carried on, “Like, for me, I’m here at 4am, Wednesday through Saturday. So I’ll probably be working the Baltimore flight, but that’s not set in stone.” She thought she saw a flicker of hope in Clarke’s micro expression. But she couldn’t be sure. She stepped back, establishing more space between them.

“Interesting…” Clarke drew out the word. “Very cool. I’m learning a lot,” she smiled. Lexa smiled back, more with her eyes than her mouth. “Well, I should go,” Clarke decided, though she would still rather spend time with Lexa, she didn’t want to overstay her welcome. “I’ll let you get back to work.”

“Because I’m so busy here,” Lexa smirked, glancing around the nearly empty terminal. Clarke smiled and dipped her head.

“I know, but still…”

“There’s lots more I could teach you.” Clarke stared at Lexa. _Did she know what she was doing? Did she know what she was saying?_ Lexa was always so still and statuesque that Clarke wasn’t sure if she was ever hitting on her. She was so far beyond professional that Clarke felt anything coming from Lexa wouldn’t be intended any other way than strictly business.

“And I look forward to it.” Clarke gave a friendly smile. “But for now I’m going to rush home, kick these heels off, and beg my feet for forgiveness.”

“You do that,” Lexa smiled. “I’ll see you Wednesday.”

“See you Wednesday,” Clarke echoed. She pulled her bags through the gate area, passing by Murphy and Emori, who had taken rest next to each other in some empty chairs. “Bye, guys!” she said before exiting security and heading to the employee shuttle.

Emori and Murphy sat nearby the podium and watched Lexa type a few things on the keyboard before shuffling off to her next gate in silence. They had patiently witnessed the entire exchange between the flight attendant and gate agent.

Murphy sighed loudly, “If you’re into someone, you should just say it.” He looked emphatically at Emori. “Twenty bucks says it’ll take those two 5 months before they admit _out loud_ that they’re into each other. Five months or never.” He shook his head.

“You’re on,” Emori shot her hand out for Murphy to shake. The pair returned to sitting in easy silence.

“Do you want any help cleaning the next plane?” Murphy asked her before quickly giving an explanation. “Because there’s no wheelchair assist for the next little while. I could help out if you need it.” Right on cue, Murphy’s walkie talkie squawked to life.

“Sky Care assistance to gate 59. The passenger is waiting for you.” Murphy rolled his eyes as Emori let out a laugh.

“On my way,” Murphy groaned into the receiver. They stood up at the same time to part in the opposite directions of their gates. “Oh yeah,” Murphy feigned remembrance. “There’s a concert this weekend. Do you wanna come?”

Emori exhaled through her nose in amusement. “Text me the details,” she said as she walked away.

Murphy grinned and pushed his wheelchair toward his next gate. “Cool. Very cool.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr: bu-bumblr
> 
> Was this chapter too long? Should I break it up more next time?


	10. Chapter 10

“I love this womaaaaaan!!!” Clarke startled when she heard yelling coming from the coffee shop and flinched when she saw someone running at her out of the corner of her eye. Jasper’s long, thin arms grabbed her by the waist and lifted her into the air, wiggling her back and forth. “I love this womaaaaan!!!” he shouted again. Clarke was laughing now, struggling to get out of his embrace.

“Jasper!” she wheezed. “What are you- Put me down!” He had a wide smile as he set down a disheveled Clarke.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he began. “I just love you so much!” He bent down to squeeze her again. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“What did I do??” she finally asked, prying herself from Jasper’s arms.

“Maya.” Was all he said as he threw his head back dramatically and put a hand over his heart. “Thank you.”

Clarke understood now, “Ohh, yes. Did she call you?”

“Oh, she called me. She called me all right.” He exaggerated a wink and bobbed his head. “She’s so great… We’ve been on two dates; there’s a third one tonight. And I’m in _love_! Ohhhh!”

“That’s great,” Clarke giggled. “I’m happy-”

Jasper cut her off. “First date we went really well. She suggested an art gallery. Plenty of secluded corners, if you know what I mean.” He wagged his eyebrows, causing Clarke to look away, shaking her head in amusement. “Second date we went to the movies. Couldn’t tell you what we watched. And this weekend I want to take her to a fancy restaurant downtown.” Clarke nodded along, truly happy for the excited puppy dog all but bouncing before her. “But I don’t know what we should do tonight. She’s picked everything up to this point, so it’s my turn to think of something. But I don’t know what! Do you have suggestions?” At that, Jasper shut up and looked intently at Clarke.

“I don’t know!” she laughed, “I don’t know anything about this girl. What does she like to do?”

“She likes art; I know that!” He threw his arms out to the side. “She’s interested in nursing…She likes _me_!”

Clarke furrowed her brow in concentration. That wasn’t much to go on. “Take her somewhere you can talk,” she suggested. “Ask her more questions about herself. Commit all the answers to memory, and don’t kiss her until the end of the night.”

Jasper’s entire body drooped, “What?? That’s your advice? That’s-”

“That’s my advice. And it’ll work. Clearly she likes you. Take her for a walk around Zona Rosa or something and find out everything you can about this girl you love. And let me know how it goes.” Then she turned on her heel and walked away before stopping suddenly and whipping around. “Oh! Jasper, I need a favor.”

“Anything.”

“Can you send me Monty’s number? Lexa is wanting his help on some techie stuff, and I realized I have yours but not his.”

“Yeah,” Jasper smiled, “I was gonna ask. How did you end up with my phone number anyway?”

She pursed her lips and dropped one hip to the side to meet her fist. “You stole my phone the first night we met and put it in there yourself…”

Jasper feigned shame but was actually chuckling to himself. “Oh, yes. Crazy night, ha ha…” He braced for reprimand, but none came.

Clarke shook her head lightly and repeated, “Text me his number, okay? And don’t forget what I said about Maya!” practically shouting as she walked away.

“Alright,” she heard him agree. “I’ll try your crazy way of doing things. I trust you, you magnificent lady, you!”

Clarke was still feeling amused when she approached her gate. However, her face fell when she didn’t see Lexa in front of the sign that read Minneapolis, MN. She craned her head around the gate area to maybe catch a glimpse. She at least wanted to say hi, even if she was working a different flight. Then her eyes fell on long brown hair being gathered by Lexa’s right hand before falling around her shoulders once more. Stuck in a trance, she still managed to smile and wave when Lexa happened a glance her way. _She must’ve felt the eyes boring on her_. Lexa mirrored Clarke’s greeting, typing a few more keys on the keyboard and bounding in her direction.

“Clarke Griffin?” came a goaded voice behind her. She turned to see Indra waiting expectantly. All Clarke could do was nod before Lexa was at her side.

“Hey!” Lexa greeted breathlessly.

“Hi!” Clarke beamed. “Guess you’re not working the Minneapolis flight, huh?”

Lexa let her head fall pitifully to one side, “No, not toda-”

“She’s not; but I am,” came the same deep, irritated voice.

“Sorry, Indra,” she poked her head from around Clarke. “I won’t keep her!” Turning back to the smiling blonde, she wrapped it up, “I just wanted to say hi…Hi! Okay, have a good trip.” As she backed away, Lexa tilted her head with affection.

Clarke couldn’t help the giggle as she said goodbye. She had never seen Lexa in such a bubbly mood. She didn’t know what it was that had her so cheery, but she liked it. This version of Lexa, like all the others before, was downright delightful. Clarke went through the motions the rest of the morning, with thoughts of…Something…filling her mind. It was a good day.

***

The next time she saw Lexa was nearly a week later, happily posted up behind the podium. Clarke slid into view, “Hey Lexa, how’s it going?”

She lifted her eyes as a wide smile swept across her face. “Good morning, Clarke!” she sighed.

“Glad to see you’re working the flight with me!” Her eyes danced enthusiastically.

Lexa slightly twisted her face in disappointment. “Actually, I won’t be here long. Anya’s working this one, but she asked me to cover for her. As soon as she gets here, I’ll have to go back to working the ticket counter.”

“Oh,” she pushed her lips together, nodding.

“I have something for you though,” Lexa reached for a shelf under her desk. “A scone,” she said, handing her a small paper bag.

Clarke gasped, “For me??” She held her hands out giddily for Lexa to place the bag in them.

“Yeah…It might be a little cold; I’m sorry. I picked it up before work today, so it’s been sitting here,” Lexa explained dejectedly.

“Oh, no. No, it’s delicious; I’m sure. Thank you!” Clarke laughed, peering into the bag.

“You’re welcome,” said Lexa proudly.

“What did I do to deserve this?” Clarke questioned with wonder as she dipped her hand in to grab the pastry.

“Nothing. I just felt bad about not getting to work your flight the other morning.”

“That wasn’t _your_ fault.” Clarke couldn’t help but grin at Lexa’s apology scone. “But the scone is welcome, nonetheless!”

She smiled and nodded once, “Yes, well. My pleasure.” Clarke nodded back, picking off a piece and tossing it in her mouth.

“AW, what! None for me??” Bellamy’s laughter exploded behind Clarke. She jumped and turned around to see her crew: Bellamy, Miller, and Kane, gathering around the gate area.

“Nope!” Clarke protected the scone with her body. “This is all mine.”

“Alright, alright.” His smile took up his entire face as he gave Clarke a quick side hug. “Is the plane here?” He asked, ducking his head around to get a better view out the windows.

“It is,” Lexa answered. “I’ll let you guys down. Anya should be here soon.”

She swiped her badge to open the door, and Clarke greeted Miller and Kane with a, “Good morning!” as they strode past her. “I’ll be down in a second.”

Lexa slowly approached the podium after the boys were gone. “You’ve been working a lot more of these early morning flights lately,” she smirked.

Clarke quirked an eyebrow. “And you’ve been working a lot of evening shifts lately,” she smirked back.

“Well, I’ve been covering shifts for people so I can get a few days off and spend the weekend in Massachusetts... It’s been really hard to get people to cover them though. I’m having to work _two_ shifts for someone to take my _one!”_ Lexa huffed, shaking her head.

“Well, yeah,” Clarke laughed. “No one wants to work at 4am. Your shifts suck!”

“Hey! I like them,” Lexa defended. “So anyway, that’s why I’ve been working afternoon and evening flights. What’s your excuse?”

“They’ve been putting a lot of early morning reports on my schedule is all…” Clarke said casually, rocking back and forth and enjoying another bite of her breakfast. “Thanks again for the scone.”

“Anytime.”

They shared another moment where neither spoke, only with their eyes. Clarke wanted to ask more, about her trip to Massachusetts, and what Lexa did for fun, and what fragrance shampoo she uses. It was nothing like she ever smelled before. But instead they just stared softly until seconds later, Anya was at the gate, setting her things down, and taking over the reins.

Clarke barely had time to register before Lexa was saying goodbye and turning to leave. “Oh, wait.” She started, effectively garnering all of Clarke’s attention. “I want to give this to you before I forget.” She held out a small, folded piece of paper, which Clarke accepted immediately.

“What’s this?” she asked, looking it over.

“It’s my phone number.” Clarke’s eyes snapped up to Lexa, who had her eyebrows raised innocently. “You know…for better gate to plane communication,” she continued with flushed cheeks as Clarke stared. “Or if you need someone to call for ice, or if you get here and there’s no agent to bring the jetway in…just in case of any emergency.” Anya glanced over discretely with a flash of pity.

“Okay,” Clarke said slowly. “Thanks!”

Lexa nodded. “I’ll see you later.” With the flip of her hair, she was gone.

“Bye,” Clarke said, even though Lexa was probably out of earshot.

She couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed in Lexa’s business-motivated gesture. Doubts arose as she was starting to feel maybe Lexa wasn’t as into her as she thought. But then again, there she stood with a scone she didn’t ask for in one hand and Lexa’s personal cell phone number in the other. Clarke took a deep breath before turning to Anya, who offered no solace in her confusion.

“Ready to go down now?” She didn’t look up from her screen.

***

Meanwhile, down on the ramp, Bellamy was doing his walk around to check the wings and tires and make various aircraft assessments before taking her off the ground. He was strolling along under the left wing when he heard a voice call out.

“Hey; hey!” Bellamy turned to see Lincoln jogging toward him. “Hey, you’re Bellamy, right?”

He nodded once, “How’s it going?” Lincoln had his hand extended and he shook it, with probably more strength than necessary.

“It’s going very well,” Lincoln nodded back. “I just wanted to introduce myself.” Bellamy knew this was the guy Octavia was seeing; he had seen him around the ramp before. However, Bellamy was very protective of his baby sister and automatically hated any guy she showed interest in. “I’m Lincoln, Octavia’s boyfriend.” The use of the word boyfriend made Bellamy’s blood boil. But Lincoln continued with fervency, “It’s nice to finally meet you. And I just wanted to say Octavia is very special to m-“

From behind Lincoln, one of the other rampers shouted out, “Hey, yo Linc! How’s that sky girl treating you now?!” Lincoln shifted his head around to see who was yelling and saw two of the younger ramp agents gyrating their hips suggestively. Threateningly, he furrowed his brow down and tightened his jaw, effectively making them freeze and carry on about their work. When Lincoln returned his face to where Bellamy was standing, it was met with a sharp right hook.

While Lincoln held his jaw, ready to deflect any returning impacts, he heard Bellamy shouting, “Is that how you see her?” He gestured across the ramp, “Is that what you all think of her? I swear, man, if you’re using her just to impress your little ramper friends about how you managed to bag a flight attendant, I swear…” He didn’t finish his sentence. “I don’t care. They can take my license away…I will _end_ you!” Lincoln was staring up at Bellamy, not batting an eyelash. “Do you understand me??!”

When he said nothing, Bellamy grabbed him by the front of the shirt to stand him up again, only to take another swing at his face. This one, Lincoln blocked, backing up. Bellamy advanced on him as he blocked another blow. Finally, Lincoln saw his shot and popped him right under the jaw. He staggered back, stunned. And Lincoln stood stock still.

“Those,” he pointed to in the direction of the rambunctious rampers, “are just kids. They don’t know what they’re saying or doing. They don’t know what it’s like to love a woman, to really love her. Perhaps they’ll figure it out some day,” he continued purposefully. “But as for me, I _know_ I love your sister. She means more to me than my own life… And I thought you ought to know that.”

Bellamy, who had been staring furiously at Lincoln as he spoke, let out a sigh. “From now on, you keep your men under control.” Looking back at the young boys, Bellamy did a double take.

“Bellamy?” A familiar voice called him, “What’s going on?” Octavia’s small figure emerged from the forward cargo hold.

Beyond surprised and still very heated from his fight, Bellamy squinted, “O??” Octavia approached timidly.

“Hey…” she looked back and forth between the boys, “Were you guys _fighting_?”

Ignoring her question, Bellamy frowned, “Why are you down here? What ar- are you working the ramp?” It was a demand more than a question. “Did you quit?? Did you quit your job and not even tell me?!”

Hurrying to her brother’s side, Octavia reached out for his arm, “Look, I was going to tell you… I haven’t actually quit, but,” she motioned to Lincoln, still fuming silently, “Lincoln’s been training me on my days off. I’ve been picking up shifts here and there.” Bellamy lowered his brow in confusion, so she continued. “I’m quitting, Bell. Not yet, but eventually. I’m not happy on the plane, okay?”

“I don’t understand.” He took a step back, as if seeing his sister with new eyes.

“It’s nothing personal; you’re acting like I’ve killed your dog. I just would prefer being outside and… _not_ being around passengers.” Lincoln stepped forward to put an arm around Octavia, who looked up at him. “…I was going to tell you s-“

“ _Anything_ else, Octavia,” he interrupted. “Anything else would be better than this. Do you know how dangerous it is out here?” He stepped forward earnestly, “Last year a man was crushed to death after tripping on the ramp…in a split second, anything can happen.”

“I like to think I’m more vigilant than that,” she frowned, looking off toward an empty tarmac. The sun was rising, and she took a deep breath. “I like it out here, Bell.”

Shaking his head, he took a step toward the jet bridge then retreated. “Please don’t do this. It’s safer in the air where I can keep an eye on you.”

It was Octavia’s turn to shake her head. “Stop, Bellamy. I’m not your responsibility.”

“You will _always_ be my responsibility.” He nodded in Lincoln’s direction. “And you’re okay with her doing this?”

“She’s safe with me,” was all the man replied.

He didn’t say another word, only nodded a few times as he walked away, looking back regretfully at an immovable Lincoln holding hands with his tenacious younger sister. It was something he would have to accept, but he needed time to wrap his head around it.

Back above the wing, Clarke and Miller had the cabin ready for boarding. When Bellamy barged through the jet bridge door from the ramp, he made a beeline straight for the cockpit. Clarke stepped back, wondering who pissed _him_ off. In answer to her question, Octavia, clad in a reflective yellow vest, followed Bellamy through the jet bridge door. She maneuvered past Gustus who was scanning a few checked bags and tossing them down to the ramp.

Octavia sighed at Clarke’s surprised face, “I guess now is a good a time as any to tell you I’ve started training on the ramp.”

“Is Bellamy upset?” Clarke realized quickly that she would support Octavia in this, as long as it made her happy. “Is that why he just stormed through here?”

“Yeah…I should have told him days ago. Of all the flights going out right now…” she said, mostly to herself. “I didn’t think he’d take it so hard-”

From behind her, Indra cleared her throat, cutting her off. “Octavia, you need to be back down on the ramp. There’s still plenty to do; this is not time for socializing.” Octavia bowed her head respectfully and turned to exit. “Are you ready to board?” Indra addressed Clarke.

“Um, yes,” she said, feeling slightly out of sorts. “Send them down.”

Each passenger was greeted with a welcoming smile, though Clarke juggled several thoughts in her mind. Confusion seemed be piling up, and she needed a second to set things back in order. If only they could all sit in a room together and talk it out. She would ask Octavia why she was joining the ramp and why she kept it from her. She would get the whole story. She would make the Blakes come to an understanding. Because the world didn’t make sense whenever they fought. And she would badger Lexa on the whole phone number thing. _Does she want me to text her?_ Clarke just wanted some things out in the open for once! Really, she just needed a breather from work.

So, when she overheard one of the young rampers mention a party to Gustus, her ears perked up. Just then, Octavia strode up to Gustus and Artigas with the cargo load sheet, overhearing their conversation, too. “Oh, yeah. Hey, Clarke!” Octavia called, trotting over to her at the aircraft door. “There’s another party this weekend at Nyko’s. Are you going to be in town?”

“Yeah!” her eyebrows shot up excitedly. “That sounds fun!” Miller was approaching their little gathering, and Clarke leaned toward Octavia, “Can I invite some people? Would Nyko mind?”

“Oh, that’s fine. But I’ll ask him to make sure.”

“Octavia!” came Indra’s demanding voice from around the corner; Gustus and Artigas scampered off. “Did you hand the load sheet to the captain?”

“Oh!” she stepped around Clarke to give the paper to Kane. “Sorry,” she said to Indra as she passed by her. Indra just shook her head slowly. “I thought _Anya_ was working this flight…” Octavia mumbled under her breath.

“Anya,” she began coldly, “is up at the desk doing her job. I suggest you get back to the ramp and continue yours.”

“Alright, alright,” Octavia submitted. “I’ll text you what he says,” she said to Clarke.

“See you later!” came her reply.

Then Clarke was left in silence with Indra, staring at the floor.

“Good to close!” Kane announced, paperwork in hand. Clarke handed it to Indra, and the doors were sealed. She and Miller finished their safety briefing, and had time to chat a bit before take-off.

“Did you see Lexa, that gate agent I was talking to this morning?” she asked him offhandedly.

“Yeah, I’ve seen her around,” he nodded.

As if trying to see his thoughts, Clarke glowered at him, “Alright, Miller. What about this one? Does _she_ have a fiancée?”

***

Later that day, resting on a luggage cart, Octavia pulled out her phone. Nyko had asked Clarke who she planned on inviting, and Octavia was awaiting her reply. Then it appeared on her screen.

“Just some flight crew people. Miller, Monroe, Harper. Bellamy and Lexa.” When Clarke hit send, hundreds of miles away, her stomach twisted in nerves. She was pretty much admitting her interest in the new gate agent, and she hadn’t talked to Octavia about it at all.

When Octavia read the message, she smiled. She already knew how much courage it took Clarke to add Lexa’s name to that list. But she swiftly jumped off the cart in search of Nyko, to give Clarke the OK.

Nyko read the message over and said nothing but raised a thumb up.

“What’s that?” Gustus asked curiously.

“Clarke’s inviting some of her flight attendant friends this weekend,” Nyko explained, not looking up from his work.

Gustus grunted, “Mm, then count me out.”

“What?” Octavia questioned along with Nyko who furrowed his brow.

“Bellamy didn’t hesitate in attacking Lincoln. You invite sky people, you invite hostility.”

“It’s not going to be like that,” Nyko insisted. “Those two got it out of their system; it’s over now.”

Gustus looked away, ignoring his assurance. Then he turned pointedly to Octavia and huffed, “You should have stayed on the plane. You’re already causing trouble for us down here,” and walked away, giving neither of them a chance to defend themselves.

***

Hours later, Anya stood in front of her gate. The plane was sitting there, but she still had nearly an hour until she had to start boarding. She was typing away at the computer when she saw Raven limping toward her with a big smile.

“Oh, no,” Anya’s face fell. “Is this plane on maintenance?”

“What,” Raven threw her arms out to the side, “No ‘good to see you Raven,’ ‘I’ve missed your smile Raven,’ ‘do they make braces for hearts because your brace is…making my heart…something, I don’t know where I was going with that…” she trailed off.

Anya shook her head but couldn’t bite back the grin threatening to escape. “Good to see you, Raven,” she started, “ _as long as_ you’re only coming to say your weird version of ‘hi’ and not to spend two hours fixing a broken plane that’s been sitting here for three.”

“Relax!” Raven laughed. “It’s just an ordinary check-up…I’m sure everything is _fine_.” Anya nodded, relaxing a bit. “Speaking of fiiiine,” Raven winked.

Anya rolled her eyes with a smirk and moved to let the sassy mechanic down the jet bridge to do her thing with the awaiting plane.

“Thanks, lady!” Raven slid under Anya’s arm that held the door open. “And after I’m done checking her out,” she pointed toward the plane, “I’ll be back to check _you_ out!” She flipped her ponytail, garnering an annoyed sigh from Anya, who’s eyes lingered a little longer than necessary as her coworker strutted down the hallway.

The maintenance check took about 20 minutes to complete, but 15 minutes in, Anya had followed Raven to the aircraft. Her argument was that sitting in a first class seat was more comfortable than standing at a podium. Raven was overjoyed for her company.

“I hope you’re at least enjoying the show,” Raven called over her shoulder as she bent low to push a test button. “This mechanical stuff can be pretty dry, but with someone like me in front of you, I hope it leaves you pretty we-”

“ _Enough_!” Anya pushed to her feet. Her outburst surprised Raven, who stood up, too. In two strides, she was standing directly in front of her. “If you’re going to profess to liking me, you need to suck it up and ask me out. None of this heavy flirting, which I _know_ is just a guise to protect yourself. You’re waiting for me to swoon and give in and ask _you_ out, so whenever things get hard you can tell yourself you didn’t really want any of it in the first place.” Raven’s face was somber but curious as Anya ranted. “But I’m not about that. I don’t waste my time, and I don’t play around. I’m telling you now, ask me out properly or buzz off.”

“Do you wanna go out for a drink later?” Raven asked without a second’s hesitation.

Silently, Anya pulled the pen from between Raven’s fingers, copied her number down, and stepped back. “I’ll text you my address. You can pick me up at 8.” She glanced awkwardly from side to side, then turned and left.

Raven sat in Anya’s wake for a beat before she hurriedly saved her number and fired off a text to Clarke. Giggling, she knocked her fist against the cockpit door, “ _Yes_!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lexa totally gave Clarke her number. And she definitely wants her to use it for more than work-related issues. She's not fooling anyone.
> 
> Tumblr: bu-bumblr


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to take a moment to say how much I LOVE this fandom. You all have been nothing but supportive. It's like everyone plays by the rule that if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. I was worried when I first started posting, but I shouldn't have.
> 
> Clexakru really is the best.

“There’s a party this weekend at Nyko’s house. Do you wanna come?” Clarke’s thumbs hovered momentarily before she pressed send, and her mouth twisted into a nervous yet excited smile while she waited for Lexa’s response. Then she quickly typed, “This is Clarke by the way.”

A minute later, Lexa’s text appeared. “Hey Clarke :) I’m actually going to Massachusetts on Thursday, and I won’t be back until late Saturday night or maybe Sunday, depending on flights. When’s the party?”

 _Darn._ Clarke suddenly remembered Lexa saying that and felt stupid for asking. “Oh yeah! I totally forgot :/ The party is Friday night haha so hopefully next time!”

“Absolutely.”

“Have a safe trip!”

“Thanks :) Enjoy the party! You’ll have to tell me all about it haha.”

“I’m sure there will be much to tell ;) lol”

Clarke clicked her phone off and set it aside. She stared around the empty hotel room, the buzz of the mini fridge mixed with the whirr of the air conditioner making her restless. Texting Lexa more, that’s what she wanted to do. But instead, after she felt her stomach growl, she grabbed her phone again to see what options were around the hotel. _I really need to start packing more food in my bags._

***

“Where do you wanna eat?” was the first thing Raven asked Anya after she hopped in her car and closed the door. “In the mood for anything in particular?” She wagged her eyebrows seductively.

Anya let out an amused breath, “How about Brew Top.”

“Bar food it is,” she agreed as she pulled the car out. The pair sat silently for a couple minutes while Raven found the main road.

“Is that…is bar food okay?” Anya asked softly, fidgeting with her hands.

Raven whipped her head to look at the girl in her passenger seat, “Sounds good to me!” Anya nodded and put her eyes straight ahead. “As long as you’re there.” Raven added with a grin. Anya cocked a half smile but kept her eyes trained forward.

At the restaurant bar, the girls ordered one beer each and decided to split a pizza. While they waited for the pizza to cook, Anya set down her beer and shifted to face Raven. “What are your intentions with me?”

Raven smirked, “My intentions?”

“Yes. What are your intentions?” she repeated sternly. “Because you’re a flirt. That’s obvious. However, you don’t know anything about me. Which raises some flags where I come from.”

Raven lifted her eyebrows in shock. “Well, I know _some_ stuff about you. I know you have a younger sister named Tris. I’ve seen her at the airport before getting on flights.” Raven proceeded with caution. “You’re very gentle and protective of her, so she must mean a lot to you.” Anya suddenly shifted in her seat. “And I know you have a tough exterior, which I’m guessing is from a life of hardship, yet you were born soft and sweet. So sometimes that side of you emerges without warning.” Raven stared off thoughtfully. “Like last fall when you gave up your standby seat to the old woman grieving. She was headed to a funeral for her brother, but you let her take the last seat and found a different flight instead. You didn’t even hesitate.”

“That was months ago…how did you-” Anya began.

“I know we mechanics are virtually invisible, but you’d be surprised what we see sometimes.”

“I’ve never felt you were invisible,” she defended quickly. Then she propped an elbow on the counter to lean her head against her fist. “What else have you noticed?”

Raven popped a brow and smirked again, “I’ve noticed how beautiful and sexy and stunning you are…to name three more things.”

Anya rolled her eyes and laughed, “Oh, here we go…”

“What?” Raven giggled. “You are! Nobody has higher cheek bones than you... And if you look up ‘smokey eye’ in the dictionary, I’m pretty sure there’s a picture of you from about here to here.” Raven held her hands flat against her face, framing her eyes.

Anya bit back a grin. “You like the smokey eye, huh?” Raven nodded enthusiastically. “Well, you’re pretty attractive yourself, Raven,” she said, prompting the other girl to squint her eyes with a knowing smile. “Ugh, I knew admitting that would inflate that already giant head of yours,” Anya laughed.

“Mm-hmm,” Raven hummed. “That’s right.”

Interrupting the moment of confessions, the bartender set their pizza on the counter between them. “Enjoy, ladies.”

For the rest of the evening, they stuffed their faces, and Anya ordered one more beer to wash it down. “Alright,” she announced, “So you’ve been watching me from afar for _how_ long now?”

“Don’t make it sound so creepy.”

“Well? I’m just saying. There’re plenty of gate agents at the airport. But there’s only one feisty female mechanic with a limp.” Raven nodded along, chewing, so Anya continued. “So… _I’ve_ noticed you from about day one.” She quickly added, “Nothing weird! It’s just that you stand out.”

“Do I now?” Raven laughed.

“I would like to know how long since you’ve…had your eye on me. So to speak,” Anya chuckled at herself and took a drink.

“I don’t know the exact date!” Raven laughed.

“I don’t need an exact date. I’m just wondering,” Anya turned to face Raven again. “How serious are you? Because like I said, Raven. I don’t mess around.”

The corners of Raven’s playful lips grew serious. “Anya. I like you, okay? I haven’t overanalyzed it. But I’m not afraid of this,” she gestured between them. “You, however, seem to be beyond frightened for some reason. What is it you think I’m going to do to you?”

“I think you’re going to leave me heartbroken. That’s what I think.” She spoke honestly.

Raven took a deep breath and sighed. “Why? Why do you think that?” Anya shrugged tentatively. “Ask me when the last time was that I slept with someone. Or even went on a date.”

“Okay…” Anya humored her. “When was the last time you went on a date?”

“Two years ago.” Anya didn’t say anything. “You don’t know anything about me,” Raven finished, looking away.

At that, Anya sat back in thought, crossing her arms over her chest. “I know you’re more frightened than you let on. I know you enjoy independence, but at the same time you like being told what to do. And I’m starting to think you’re,” she paused to catch Raven’s attention, “…sincere.”

Raven couldn’t help the slow smile sweeping her face. “Let’s get out of here,” she sighed. “I’ll take you back home.”

Anya nodded. “I’ll take the check tonight.”

“Whoa, whoa, hey. You don’t have to do that,” Raven’s finger pinned a corner of the receipt sitting between them.

“You can pay next time,” she smiled, lightly knocking Raven’s hand away.

“Next time…” Raven repeated, mirroring her smile.

On the drive back to Anya’s, the car was quiet except for the radio playing faintly in the background. “You, uh,” Anya fidgeted with her hands. “You can come inside for a bit.” Raven snapped her eyes to Anya’s, and she was met with expectation. “If you want, I mean. We don’t have to end the night so early, unless you have other things to do tonight I understand. I, uh-”

“No,” Raven said quickly. “I have nothing.” The two shared a smile and Raven bounced her head to the beat of the song as she turned up the volume on the radio.

“I like this song,” Anya leaned her head back tapping her fingers.

Once inside Anya’s apartment, she offered Raven a drink and told her to make herself comfortable. Raven kicked her shoes off at the door and wandered around the living room while Anya poured them both a glass of water.

“Are you sure you don’t want anything else?” Anya offered as she entered the room. “I have orange juice in the fridge. I also have wine.”

“Water is fine for now. Thank you.”

“So…” Anya took a seat on the couch. “What do you do for fun? When you’re not fixing and maintaining thousand-pound silver tubes?”

Raven laughed, “Oh, I have a wide variety of interests…” She joined Anya on the couch. “I like to build computers and sell them online. That’s one thing.”

“Wow,” she raised her eyebrows, impressed. “Do you make a lot of money doing that?”

“Eh,” she shrugged. “It’s more of a hobby than a second job, I’d say. I customize them though. My customers usually have specific things they want, so I have to modify each one. It’s fun!” she added.

“For a genius, maybe.” Anya scoffed.

“What about you?” Raven asked, taking a sip of her water.

“Oh, I don’t know.” She scanned the living room. “I got pretty into Capoeira a few years back. I used to be more into it than I am now. I hardly have time for it anymore, but it’s still fun to do.”

Raven laughed heartily, “Can you show me?? I wanna see it! Come on! Demonstration!” she clapped.

Anya shook her head and laughed, too, running a hand through her hair. “No, no. Not tonight…I’d be too embarrassed.”

“Well, what would you _rather_ do?” Raven inhaled deeply, shifting her shoulders to face Anya. She didn’t reply, only pushed herself closer to Raven until she could reach out her hands and pull the small girl even closer. Raven wasted no time in dipping her head to meet Anya’s lips. Anya gasped against the sudden contact and moved her lips against Raven’s, matching her fervor. They pushed into each other until Raven climbed forward, effectively lying on top of her. Anya’s hips ground up into hers as Raven kissed down her jaw.

“Can we just-” Anya breathed. “Can we just do this for a little while?” Raven moaned into her neck in affirmation. “I just-” she started again. Raven sat up to look her in the eyes. “I just want to do _this_ tonight. No sex.” Her voice was deep and firm.

Raven smiled down and agreed, “No sex,” as she brought her lips to Anya’s again. “You feel so good.” In response, Anya pushed her tongue up to meet Raven’s, and they both sighed into the kiss, exploring each other’s backs and faces with their hands.

Eventually, they slowed down, and Raven spoke up. “I didn’t think I’d get this lucky tonight. I kind of thought you didn’t like me that much.”

Anya wrapped her arms around the girl’s small frame and squeezed before admitting, “I’ve liked you for a long time…” Raven nestled herself between Anya and the back of the couch, one of her legs tossed over Anya’s. “I didn’t think I’d get this lucky either.”

They resumed their kissing gradually, letting it build up until Anya had a thigh pressed between Raven’s legs, helping her slide up and down, breathing heavily. She had Anya’s shirt pulled up over her breast, and was kissing her way across the top of it. She pulled the cup down ever so slowly, allowing Anya to stop her if she wanted. It was down halfway when Anya yanked it free and Raven immediately captured a nipple in her mouth, grazing it with her teeth.

Anya thrust her head back as the pleasure swept through, straight to her center. Then Raven brought her mouth back to Anya’s, her hips still bucking against Anya’s thigh. Her breathing grew erratic as she whispered in Anya’s ear, “I think I’m gonna come.”

Anya pulled her close with each grind and groaned back, “Do it.” Then, Raven came with a shaky whine before falling limp onto Anya. Fingers slid lightly across the heated skin of Raven’s back as she floated down from her high.

Once stable again, “We didn’t have sex,” was the first thing out of Raven’s mouth, making both girls giggle. “Technically,” she continued, “we still have our clothes on.”

“Mostly on,” Anya glanced at her boob still hanging out partway. She chuckled bringing Raven’s forehead in for a kiss.

“Oh, right…sorry,” Raven pulled her mouth to the side in apology. Anya laughed again, still rubbing Raven’s back soothingly. After a moment of comfortable silence, Raven spoke softly, “Tell me something personal.”

Anya stared at the ceiling in thought. “I-” she stopped short, and Raven glanced up, meeting her eyes with warmth, telling her it was okay. “I just got out of a pretty long term relationship.” The words hung in the air until Anya decided to continue. “We were together 5 years…” Raven slid an arm around Anya’s stomach and tucked it under. “We met in college, and she lived here for a while with me. Then, a couple years ago she transferred up north.” Anya laughed at herself. “We thought we could make the long-distance work. It wasn’t really that bad actually, I mean, we both work for Polaris, so we had the flight benefits. And I was making a plan to relocate with her. Lexa was actually going to be my replacement here in Kansas City,” Anya huffed. Raven listened quietly as she carried on, her voice getting deeper and deeper as she divulged her story unrestrained. “Then, I found out she had been cheating on me…pretty much since the moment she moved away. And, I don’t know,” Anya brought the back of her hand up to rest on her forehead. “I honestly thought I would marry this girl. I thought she was _it_ , you know?”

Raven nodded against Anya’s chest. “Is that why you’re so skeptical of me?” she ventured.

Anya didn’t respond for a while, and Raven was beginning to think she never would. Then Anya swallowed hard and admitted, “Yes.”

“I’m sorry,” Raven tugged at her with the arm wrapped around her stomach. “As I said before, I don’t date casually…” She felt Anya nod. “I like you. And I guess I’m asking you to take a chance. We can, I don’t know, take it slow, test the waters before we jump…but please don’t write me off because of some horrible, cheating millennial who didn’t see a good thing when she had it.”

Anya couldn’t help the pitiful chuckle at Raven’s choice of words. “Damn millennial’s…” She pulled the feisty girl on top of her closer. “Can we just stay like this for a bit? I haven’t had a proper cuddle in a long time.” Raven replied by kissing her cheek, burrowing herself deeper into Anya’s side, and inhaling deeply into her neck.

After a moment, Anya spoke up, “Can I ask you a question that I’ve been wondering for a while now?”

“What is it?” Raven croaked, voice scratchy as it neared sleep.

“What happened to your leg?”

Raven took a deep breath before mumbling offhandedly, “Drunk driver.” Anya reached over to tuck a strand of dark hair behind Raven’s ear and kissed her forehead. “It’s alright. Makes me more cautious now,” Raven admitted. “With cars and alcohol. And lives in general. Anything can happen in seconds and change everything…”

The two stayed like that, holding each other on the couch until they dozed off. But after a couple hours, Raven stirred, waking Anya, too. They both sleepily agreed it was time to call it a night. And even though Anya didn’t like it, Raven decided to drive home. “Text me when you get there,” Anya insisted.

“I will.” Before Raven could hobble out the door, Anya pulled her in for a passionate kiss that left both girls breathing heavy. Anya let her tongue massage against Raven’s suggestively before pulling away again. “Alright!” Raven announced, wrapping her arms around the other girl, “I’m awake!”

Anya laughed into her neck and squeezed out one last hug. “I’ll see you around.”

“Count on it.”

***

By 9pm Friday night, the party was in full swing. Clarke drove Octavia this time and picked up Miller along the way. Monroe replied she wouldn’t be able to make it since she was working. But plenty of people were already there when they showed up. Several rampers were gathered on the deck and in the backyard, the flight attendants and pilots were mainly in the dining room playing cards, and there were stragglers all around, mixing drinks in the kitchen, messing with the music in the living room, and involving themselves in various conversations throughout the house. Clarke floated from room to room, never having reason to stay in one place too long. Maybe it was her imagination, but it seemed there were a lot more couples at this party. And the more the night went on, the more she wanted to text Lexa, just to see how she was doing. Nothing in particular. But the more she felt her fingers itching for her phone, the more sips of her drink she took instead. So, it wasn’t long for her liquid courage to step in and send a message for her.

“Wish you were at this party.” Clarke pressed send then quickly returned her phone to her back pocket. If she distracted herself with other things, then Lexa’s response would come faster. That was her logic when she strode into the dining room to join her coworkers in a game of cards.

After one round, Octavia tossed her hand aside. “This is boring. Who wants to play flip cup?!” There were a few strong agreements in support of the suggestion.

“I haven’t played flip cup in sooooo long!” Harper enthused.

“Let’s do eeeeet!” said Miller, standing up.

“Come on,” Octavia motioned, “There’s a bigger table outside. Bellamy, can you grab a stack of cups? I’m going to ask around if anyone else wants to play.” When Octavia walked onto the patio, she sidled up to Lincoln who was in a conversation with Nyko. “Hey, Linc. We’re going to start a game of flip cup, do you wanna play?” Chuckling at the party classic, Lincoln agreed to play a couple rounds. Nyko opted to watch for now.

Clarke followed the group outside where the sky was darkened, but the air felt clean and fresh. She smiled into the breeze as she made her way to the long table to help Bellamy set out the cups. “I’ll play,” announced a deep, scratchy voice from behind Clarke. She turned around to see a large man with smiling eyes sticking his hand out, “Hello, I’m Roan. I don’t think we’ve been introduced.”

“Hello!” Clarke shook his hand. “Great to meet you, Roan. The more the merrier!” He held his hand out to Bellamy, too, who shook it silently. “So what do you do, Roan?” Clarke asked, making light conversation.

“I work the ramp in Minneapolis,” he smiled.

“ _Minneapolis_??” Clarke wondered aloud, “What are you doing all the way down here?”

Roan laughed, “Well, I’ve been friends with Nyko for years, and we’re just in town visiting for a couple days; me and my sister, Ontari.” He scanned the yard to see if she was close.

“ _Step_ -sister,” a firm voice corrected from behind him. Roan jumped, comically fearful, due to the size of his petite sister peaking around his shoulder.

“Wanna play?” Clarke invited.

Ontari looked away. “Perhaps later.”

Jasper, holding hands with Maya, stepped onto the back patio and whispered in her ear sweetly, “Do you wanna play?” She shrugged, and he shuffled her over to the end of the table with the others.

Before the game started, Clarke clicked her phone screen to life, but there weren’t any notifications. She put it back in her pocket, suddenly in a heavier mood.

Octavia and Bellamy split the teams in two. Clarke, Harper, Monty, Lincoln, and Octavia on one team. And on the other, Bellamy, Miller, Roan, Jasper, and Maya. They played a few games with excitable moments of screaming in elation and shouting directions at teammates that the group drew quite a crowd from the other party goers.

“Softer, Jasper!!! You have to hit it softer!”

“They’re getting ahead!!”

Finally, he popped it up just right for it to land, and Bellamy finished off the last cup seconds before Octavia could flip her cup upright.

“YEEES!!! We win again!” Bellamy celebrated with his fists in the air.

“I wanna play next round!” shouted a young Artigas perched on the porch railing. “I want Nyko and Semet on my team!” The two men finally nodded in agreement. They would humor the kid. Plus, it looked like fun.

Miller glanced around, and when he caught Bryan’s eye, he gestured to the table invitingly. Bryan smiled politely and shook his head, returning to the conversation going on next to him. Disappointed, and preferring to spend time with the coy TSA agent, Miller held his palms up, “I’m out; so someone can step in for me.”

“Nooo, come on! We were on a roll!” Bellamy threw his hands up.

“How about this,” Semet suggested, surrounded by his teammates, “ _Flight_ crew versus the _ramp_!” That got everybody excited.

“We need a couple more rampers! Who wants to join the ranks?” Nyko announced into the night. Ryder stepped forward immediately.

“Alright!” Bellamy shouted, “Clarke, Harper, and Octavia, gather up! Miles!” He shouted to a young pilot tossing a football around in the yard. “Come play!”

“I’m out, too,” Octavia shook her head, hooking her arm around Lincoln’s.

“You’re back in!” he said, ignoring her. “Come on, O!”

“We’ll watch,” she insisted.

“We’ll play in her place!” Monty grinned, standing side by side with Jasper who then reached an arm out and pulled Maya into Bellamy’s view.

Bellamy looked the trio up and down, “Uh…uh-huh. We’ll take Monty. You two, you’re out.” He tossed a thumb in the other direction.

“Oh, come on!” Jasper squeaked. “I was just getting warmed up!”

Shaking his head, Bellamy laughed. “Maya, you can be an alternate. And Jasper, you can be the alternate’s alternate.”

Jasper scoffed but ushered his date off to the side. “We don’t need them to have fun, anyway,” he hushed.

From the start, this round of the drinking game was a bit more intense as either team lined up opposite one another. Five on five, they began to chug and flip down the table with a roaring crowd around them.

Clarke started it off, and on down the line they went with Bellamy bringing up the rear. It was an easy win for the flight crew. And as Bellamy dramatically tipped his cup to end the round, he pounded the table with his fist. “That’s how it’s _done_!!”

“Again,” Nyko grumbled, body rigid.

“I’m in next round!” Raven suddenly shouted, staggering onto the back porch, Anya in tow. “Me and Anya!” When Anya caught sight of Roan and Ontari nearby, she tried desperately to pull Raven back inside, then whispered hotly in her ear when that didn’t work. “No…” Raven whispered back, “come on, it’ll be fun.” Anya rolled her eyes but allowed herself to be pulled along this time.

“I’m in, too.” Murphy stood up from his lounge chair on the deck. He turned to Emori, “Wanna play?”

“Nah, I’m not much into competition. Or chugging.” He tilted his head. “ _You_ play though,” she contended. Her words were drowned out by hollering as Bellamy and Semet swallowed the last of their beer together and began flipping. Bellamy popped it right side up immediately and the flight crew team cheered and celebrated another win with high fives all around.

“YES!!!” Bellamy shouted. “Who’s next?? Who wants to take on The Crew?!” More shouts came from the crowd in both protest and excitement.

Clarke used the opportunity to check her phone again. There was a text from Lexa, and she opened it up, smiling at her screen.

“I’d rather be at the party, too,” it read. “Believe me.”

Clarke nearly giggled into her phone as she responded. “What’s in Massachusetts anyway?” Once again, she returned the phone to her pocket, feeling light headed. And it wasn’t just the beer.

“Next round!” Bellamy shouted. “We got Raven, Anya, and Murphy. Who else on their team?”

“No!” Semet demanded. “We go again. Sky people versus the ground.”

“Aww, come on,” Raven complained. “ _I_ want in this round!”

“You take Raven and Anya,” Bellamy decided. “We’ll take Murphy, and I’ll just flip twice.”

Semet didn’t look happy; none of the rampers did.

“I’ll play.” Ontari approached the table purposefully. “Sky people versus grounders? Is that what we’re doing?” She had a severe presence about her.

“…We’re kind of just playing wherever,” Clarke volunteered at everyone’s silence.

“No. I’m only playing for the ground team. That’s me, Roan, Semet, Ryder, Nyko, Artigas, and Anya. Raven, you join the sky crew.” Raven shrugged carelessly and switched to the other side of the table. “Now that’s better.” Ontari took the first spot, opposite Clarke, and nodded sternly at her team. “Roan,” she ordered, “you take the end.”

Both teams were quiet and focused as they began, Ontari giving her team a fairly good head start. However, the sky crew still finished first, causing an outburst from the grounders at their uproar.

“Enough!” Ontari yelled over them. “Minnesota crew versus _all_ sky crew!” Her team of grounders frowned, glancing from each other to the small northern girl at the end of the table.

“You only have two people…” Octavia pointed out from the sidelines.

“Are you saying you think you can beat us?” Ontari suggested with a crooked eyebrow.

“Odds are, yeah,” she offered with a sigh.

“Okay, how about this,” Ontari began, “Me and Roan will match every other sky person here, shot for shot, flipping our cups faster. And that will redeem every grounder loss tonight.”

“Like a double or nothing?” Bellamy smirked, wobbling back a bit.

“Redeem all losses?” Clarke questioned through heavy eyelids. “We’re just playing around... It’s not like we’re trying to prove we’re better than you.”

“No!” Nyko barked, Semet and Artigas stepping up behind him. “We don’t need a couple people from the ice lands to redeem _anything_!”

“Clearly you can’t beat them yourself,” she snapped. “You’re making all of us look bad!”

“Look, that’s not how we see it-” Clarke began.

“We’ll you’ve won every round up to this point.” Ontari pointed out quickly. “Right now, you can say that your team is undoubtedly better. But if Roan and I win, then it will be said, from here on out, it only takes two northerners to beat the entire sky crew.”

Bellamy scoffed, along with a few other flight crewmembers. The alcohol was starting to hit him as he slurred, “You’re on.”

“I’m in too now,” Octavia approached the table in one long stride, cocking a brow at Ontari.

“This’ll be cake,” she snarled.

“That’s enough, Ontari!” Nyko shouted, pounding his fist on the table. “If you’re so confident, then how about grounders join sky people. You two against _all_ of us!” There were a few drunken shouts as the ground crew shuffled to stand shoulder to shoulder on the other side of the table.

“We need more cups!”

“This is ridiculous…”

“We don’t even fit around the table.”

“Make sure ice nation has the same number on that side!”

“I swear, if they win…”

Once settled, the round began clumsily as each person tried to give the person flipping enough room while not jumping out of line. The grounder/sky crew alliance was well ahead of Roan and Ontari, who were switching off and chugging increasingly slower as they progressed down the line. With only two left at the end, Lincoln and Octavia were preparing for their turn when suddenly Artigas threw up all over the center of the table. People scattered from around him, shouting and pushing him away.

“We win!!” Ontari exclaimed. “Someone vomits on the other team, and it’s a default _win_!” She clapped a bloated Roan on the back, teetering on the verge of vomiting himself. “Ice nation _wins_!!” Ontari whooped.

“We were way ahead!” someone shouted. “Finish the game and we would have won!!”

Ontari just smirked. “Little kid can’t hold his beer!”

At that, the young boy leapt across the table to attack the girl, but Bellamy caught him around the middle before he could reach her. “Get off me!” Artigas screamed, elbowing Bellamy in the nose. Crying out, Bellamy shoved him down, inciting Nyko to step in and push Bellamy back, tensions rising. Lincoln squatted down to help Artigas up.

A group of rampers quickly gathered in behind Nyko as a group of flight crew backed up Bellamy, whose fists and jaw were clenched in rage. A drunken brawl was seconds away.

“Stop!” Clarke jumped between the two men, a hand pushing out against either chest. She regretted that she couldn’t properly articulate a mediation at the moment. “That’s enough, you guys!” Bellamy and Nyko kept intense eye contact until Octavia joined Clarke.

“Seriously, you guys,” she pleaded. “It was just a game... You’re all a little drunk. Time to go sleep it off.” When Bellamy didn’t move, she addressed him, “Okay, Bell?” He looked down at her, so she asked again. “Okay?”

He nodded once and marched back into the house, most of the flight crewmembers trailing behind him.

In the wake of his departure, couples broke off again. Octavia took Lincoln’s hand and claimed she wanted to go home now, letting Clarke know she wouldn’t need a ride. Miller did the same, leaving in Bryan’s car. And Clarke caught sight of a few more making their leave.

Then, with a softer disposition than she’s ever witnessed, Clarke watched Anya step behind Raven’s back and wrap her arms around the small girl. “Ready to get out of here?” she whispered against her ear. “I wanna take you home.”

At Anya’s gentle touch and suggestive tone, Raven’s wide smile helped the porch lights brighten the backyard. “Let’s go,” she said, turning around in Anya’s arms and planting a kiss to her cheek. It made Clarke happy to see her friend so enamored.

Before the two girls could disappear back into the house, Ontari’s words, lathered in disdain, halted them. “I’ll be sure to let _Echo_ know you said, ‘hi.’”

With a flash of hurt, Anya’s eyes met Raven’s, and she turned to Ontari. “Please do,” she said, returning to Raven, lifting her chin with two fingers, and giving her a long, slobbery kiss for everyone to see.

Clarke observed Ontari during Anya’s dramatic display, and she wore a deep scowl as she watched.

When Anya pulled away, Raven furrowed her brow in confusion, but she gave no explanation, only grabbed her girl’s hand and dragged her away.

In response to that, Clarke took a deep breath and sighed, pulling her phone out of her pocket out of habit. She was suddenly overjoyed to see Lexa’s message notification. “Just visiting family. How’s the party going?”

Clarke smiled as she typed out, “Little bit of drama haha, I’ll have to tell you next time I see you. When will that be?” After she hit send, Clarke brought her head up and felt the ground spinning. _Welp! Looks like I’m taking an Uber home tonight._

“Calling for a ride?” a now-familiar deep, scratchy voice asked from behind her, causing Clarke to jump slightly.

“Uhh, yeah…” she answered, glancing over her shoulder at Roan, who was watching her try to schedule a pickup.

“Crazy night, huh?” he laughed. When Clarke only nodded, staring at her phone, he continued. “You know, you can always stay the night. There’s plenty of room in this house. And Nyko has tons of sleeping bags.”

“That’s okay,” she sighed.

“It’s a lot safer than it seemed here just a few moments ago,” he offered.

“Oh, I know. I’m not worried,” she assured. “I know Bellamy gets like this sometimes. He’ll cool off eventually. I just want a ride home. My own bed sounds pretty heavenly right now.”

“Can’t compete with that,” he laughed, walking away. “It was nice to meet you, Clarke,” he added. “Hopefully I’ll see you around.” He left her with an easy smile and a gentlemanly nod.

“It was nice to meet you, too, Roan,” she said, unexpectedly making eye contact with his step-sister across the way. Ontari appeared to want to say something to Clarke, but instead Clarke made her speedy exit through Nyko’s house. However, on her way to the front door, she realized she had better make sure Bellamy got home soon before a real fight broke out.

“Bellamy,” she said approaching him. She could tell he was still fuming as he chatted with Miles and a few other flight crew. “Do you need a ride home tonight? We can share an Uber.”

He glanced her way with glazed eyes, frowned, and waved her off, “I’ll be fine, thanks.”

“Seriously, Bell-”

“I said, it’s fine!” he snapped.

 _Whatever_. She was too drunk for this. He could take care of himself. She rolled her eyes and left.

It was a fun night, for the most part. Though she couldn’t help but wish Lexa had been there. She wouldn’t have bothered with that silly game, and she wouldn’t have gotten so drunk…maybe. But she definitely would have had more to look at and talk to, and maybe she wouldn’t be going home alone…? Speaking of which, Lexa’s reply came through, and Clarke wasted no time opening it.

“The next time I work is Tuesday morning. When does your next trip start?”

“Wednesday morning around 9,” Clarke responded quickly.

Lexa’s next message came almost immediately. “I’ll be there! :) I’ll buy you another scone if you show up early! Haha”

Clarke laughed into the night air at the message, just giddy that Lexa was texting with her. “Haha, you don’t have to bribe me! I’ll gladly come early if it means I can spend time with you.” Even in her drunken state, Clarke knew this was something she would never be so quick to admit were she completely sober.

Some 1,500 miles away, Lexa’s beaming face was illuminated in her dark bedroom. She stared at Clarke’s message several times, wanting to type back so many things. She began about four or five messages, deleting them each time before she finally had the courage to hit send.

Clarke was thanking the driver and stepping out of his car in front of her apartment complex when another message came through.

“We should hangout some time.”

Clarke could not have been in a lighter mood if she were pumped full of helium. With a big grin plastered on her face, she had stumbled into her apartment and flopped onto her bed when she realized she still needed to write back.

“Totally!”

It was hard for both girls to fall asleep that night, like a kid before Christmas morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr: bu-bumblr


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raven and Anya have some stuff to figure out, Clarke and Lexa go on a sort of date thing

“What was that,” Raven demanded, once they were in Anya’s car alone. Anya ignored her and started the car, obviously still very upset by whatever Ontari triggered. She let out a huff and focused intently on the road. “No,” Raven said, putting a hand on Anya’s shoulder. “You’re going to start talking.”

She shook her head and finally spoke, “I’m sorry.”

When Raven realized that was all she was getting out of the girl next to her, she probed further. “For what? What even was that? What happened?” Anya stayed silent. “Seriously,” Raven let out a breath, almost laughing at how angry she was getting. “Start talking, or you can-”

“She’s a friend of Echo’s,” Anya’s deep voice admitted. “Echo was…”

Raven slowly tossed her head back in realization. “I see.” She was the ex.

“Like I said, I’m sorry.” Anya finally glanced in Raven’s direction.

“That didn’t feel good,” Raven said softly, staring out the window, “the way you used me like that…”

Suddenly, Anya pulled the car over and threw it in park. She turned her shoulders purposefully and placed a hand in Raven’s lap. “You’re right. I reacted out of anger, when you were the last person I wanted to hurt.” Raven angled her face toward Anya’s, and she continued. “I’m not completely healed from the heartbreak…obviously. Whenever I think about it, it… So, I understand if you…” She choked on her breath, causing Raven’s head to jerk in her direction. “I mean, I get it,” she paused, trying to finish a sentence without crying, “if you can’t be around while I’m dealing, trying to sort this all out. It could take years…and I don’t wanna…” She sighed in frustration at herself. “I’m sorry. I’m not usually like this. I haven’t cried in front of someone in…well, a long time.”

Raven couldn’t help the tears forming around the edges of her eyes. Some of the emotion sprang from empathy, but another part was her own sudden realization that, broken or not, she wanted Anya’s heart. She _did._ She wanted it for herself, since it seemed Anya already had hers. “Any other person, and I would walk away tonight…” Raven didn’t realize she was speaking out loud until Anya looked her in the eyes with the same expression of fear and hope that she was feeling. “It’s not going to be easy...We have our work cut out for us,” she rolled her eyes exhaustedly with a puff. “But,” she paused to be sure she meant it, “I still wanna jump in. And I think that speaks _volumes_ right now.”

Anya couldn’t stifle the sob before pulling Raven in by her neck. And Raven melted. “Can I still take you home tonight?” Anya whispered into their hug. Raven only nodded. “Will you stay?” the question was even softer than the first.

“Yes,” Raven whispered back.

“Even though I’m such a hot mess right now?” Anya laughed, pulling out of the hug and wiping at her face.

Raven smirked, “Mm, emphasis on the hot.”

She sniffed and wiped her nose, letting out another laugh, “Ha! I’m starting to hope that never goes away.”

“My charm? Never.”

***

“Free coffee for m’lady?!” Jasper announced as soon as Clarke was within eyesight of him in the airport terminal. She grinned big and raised her eyebrows, approaching him.

“Why, thank you!”

“My pleasure,” he handed her the steaming cup with a gracious bow of his head.

“I’m assuming things are going well with Maya?” she asked. “You two seemed cuddly the other night.”

“Things are going _so_ well. And the coffee,” he gestured to the cup in her hands, “is a thank you for your advice on asking her questions and getting to know her. She was very impressed.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “Apparently not every guy is so eager to talk about the girl he’s with. Except me,” he smacked a hand to his chest and chuckled confidently. “I’m different.”

Clarke rolled her eyes playfully. “Yeah, thanks to me.”

“Hence,” he gestured dramatically to the cup again, “the free coffee.” Clarke held it up and thanked him again. “ _I_ get to be an expert on Maya. Soul, mind, and _body._ And _you_ get free coffee! Win/win!”

Clarke scrunched her nose in distaste at the implication he made, “Alright, I’m going to leave now before you begin to over-share, as you’re sure to do. Thank you for the coffee, and you’re welcome for the advice, and I’ll see you, both of you, later.” She pointed to Monty, loyally at his post behind the counter.

“Bye, Clarke!” he waved. “Maybe next you can talk some sense into this boy and get him to quit this dead-end job!”

“I’ll work on it!” she said over her shoulder. She hadn’t taken two steps when she heard Monty’s voice again, quieter this time.

“Hey, mom.”

Clarke groaned inwardly and didn’t turn around. It had somehow slipped her mind that she would be working with Hannah Green, who, funnily enough, was Monty’s mom. Clarke had flown with her before, many times, but each trip was a struggle. Hannah was one of those middle-aged flight attendants who simply needed to find another job. The daily demands on an aircraft wear out even the young, healthy types, let alone the ones growing tired and achy. Plus, Hannah knew everything, or so she thought. To get through each flight, Clarke had to resolve to just do things Hannah’s way and scream into a pillow later. She tried really hard make things easy on the plane, but this 4-day trip was going to be rough. The stress was already getting to her.

She didn’t realize it, it was almost instinct, but immediately she began to search the gate area for Lexa. After not seeing her anywhere nearby, Clarke proceeded to the gate. Indra stood at the computer with her familiar scowl. “Let me see your badge,” was all the stern gate agent greeted her with.

Clarke held it out in front of her, “Is Lexa around?” she asked, scanning the room.

Without raising her eyes, Indra drawled in a deep monotone, “It is not my job to keep track of Lexa. And it shouldn’t be of concern to you either. She has a job to do, and so do you, Clarke.”

“I wasn’t trying to stop her from doing her job,” she defended fearlessly. Indra was all bark and no bite. Besides, she had no authority over Clarke, nor Lexa for that matter.

Indra continued as if she hadn’t even heard Clarke. “Mark my words, someday Lexa will be running this airport, and she doesn’t need…distractions,” she paused to eye Clarke up and down.

This day was just getting worse and worse it felt like. She glared at Indra, snatched the preliminary paperwork from her hands, and huffed off toward the plane just as Hannah was walking up to the gate. Again, impulse led Clarke to reach for her phone. She was going to text Lexa, maybe she could take over the flight from Indra last second. She just wanted to see Lexa and say good morning, or more accurately, bad morning.

But just before her fingers could touch her phone, Indra’s unwelcome yet firm stance on putting work first echoed through her brain. _Maybe she has a point here._ Clarke had sworn to herself only a few months ago to not get involved with anyone at work ever again. And there were reasons. Indra’s behavior being a perfect example. Though it was none of Indra’s business, if she pursued Lexa, she was inviting all these messes of people in, too. _It’s better this way._

***

The 4-day trip was grueling and no fun. And Clarke hadn’t heard from Lexa the entire time, which made Hannah’s stubbornness and unfriendliness all the more irritating. She really couldn’t wait to get home to…Something. She didn’t know exactly what it was she felt was waiting for her on her days off, but she couldn’t get there fast enough.

 _Being on the road is lonely_ , she told herself _. I just want to be_ home _for a while_. Perhaps it had something to do with wavy brown hair and slender fingers, but even if these images failed to leave her mind, Clarke wasn’t going to admit them. Not now, and not tonight.

However, the second she saw Lexa’s face in the porthole, ready to open the main cabin door after the last flight of her trip, Clarke allowed all those concealed images to resurface. Everything was green eyes and long legs again. Plump lips and that intoxicating scent… She had no idea where it came from or how to recreate it; all Clarke knew was that she was addicted. Concentrating on the deplaning passengers was impossible, and Clarke gave it up early on. Instead she nodded to each passing figure and tried to control her heart’s rapid beating.

Little did she know, as Lexa stood in the jet bridge while people got off, she was battling her own butterflies. Once the last person was gone, rolling their bag along and fumbling with their phone, Lexa stepped forward soberly. “Do you need any help, Clarke?”

“No, I think I got it,” she smiled back, pulling her luggage from the overhead. “How have you been; how was your trip last weekend?”

“It was nice, thank you.” Lexa climbed into a chair to allow Clarke’s other crewmembers to pass by in the aisle with their belongings. They all wished each other a quick farewell, then it was just her and Lexa left on the plane. Nervously, she clasped her hands behind her back, “Are you hungry, by chance?”

“I’m always hungry,” Clarke smirked back. “Why?”

“Well, I’m just getting off a double shift, and I’m starving, so I was gonna go grab some food…” she shifted, making the observing girl grin, “if you’d like to join me?”

“That’s a great idea,” Clarke chuckled in response. “This was a long trip.” She emphasized the ‘long’ by dropping her head to the side and rolling it back and forth, as if it was just too heavy to lift.

Lexa chuckled at that, “You’ll have to tell me about it.” As they slowly made their way up the jet bridge, Clarke could feel her heart beat thumping again.

“I need to change clothes,” she said abruptly.

“Okay! I still have some stuff I need to finish up here, and I’ll meet you outside the bathrooms in 15?”

“Yes,” Clarke agreed, still battling her nerves. “See you soon!” She sped off toward the exit.

Once concealed in a stall, Clarke made quick work of shuffling out of her skirt, tights, and heels, thankful she still had clean-ish clothes in her suitcase. She popped on a low-cut, long sleeve shirt and jeans; then at the sink, she made sure to wipe her face after washing her hands. Recycled airplane air did a good job of making her skin feel toxic. She fluffed at her hair and maybe reapplied a little make up, but just before she went to reapply perfume, she stopped. _This isn’t a date. It can’t be; we work together. Why does this feel like a date?_ She took one last gaze into the mirror and shuffled off. _Uh_! It didn’t matter what she looked like!

Outside the bathroom, she flopped into a seat, waiting for Lexa. Her thoughts were about to consume her completely when she finally heard footsteps resonating down the terminal hall. She stood up as the clicking rounded the corner, and she was surprised to find Indra.

“Oh, hello!” Clarke’s friendly greeting earned her a nod then a glare from off in the distance. When Clarke followed her eyes, she saw Lexa’s figure approaching. Indra wasted no time in throwing a disapproving glance in her direction, no doubt recalling their little chat several days ago. Then, Lexa was standing in front of her, and all the troubling thoughts vanished.

“Don’t worry about her,” she whispered, leaning in close. “She’s always like that.” Clarke silently wondered if Lexa had received the same lecture from her. “She’s dedicated to the job,” Lexa continued, “which is more than I can say for some, but her intentions are only good.”

“Hm,” Clarke scoffed. “I think she hates me.” They started walking in the direction of the employee shuttle bus.

“I used to think she hated me, too.” Lexa explained. “But during one of my first flights, I messed up really bad. To this day I’m not sure what buttons I hit, but my computer when black. No other computer was affected; it was just some weird combination of keys that made me lose all the flight’s information, all the passengers’ information. Gone.” Clarke looked to Lexa with sympathetic worry. “But Indra stepped in and really saved me that day. I know it doesn’t mean that I, like, owe her in some way. But I truly respect her. She kept her calm and fixed it, and afterward she never said a word about it.”

“Hmm,” Clarke considered, unable to take her eyes off Lexa the entire time, she didn’t realize they were already at the bus stop. She looked around surprised. “Well, I’m glad she was there for you. I still think she doesn’t like me,” she added quickly, drawing a short laugh out of the girl beside her.

Once they got to the lot, Lexa offered to drive, deciding to come back after they ate since the restaurant was right by the airport. After dropping her bags off in her trunk, Clarke climbed into Lexa’s car, noting the clean floor and seats as well as the fresh smell, with no sign of an air freshener. This girl was pure perfection, and Clarke felt the nerves pool in her stomach yet again, rendering her speechless.

The ride to the restaurant was mostly Lexa talking. She was explaining how she wanted Clarke’s help on another little project of hers. “So, all you have to do is text me how many bags you end up checking at the door, along with the flight date and number. Then I’ll look up the rest.” Clarke was nodding along again, trying to pay attention to Lexa’s words and not her lips. She was quite adorable when she got excited about something; she spoke animatedly with her hands. And Clarke loved to follow the movement of them, snapping her eyes back and forth between Lexa’s soft lips and bouncing fingers. Honestly, she could watch this all day. “And I’ll compile the numbers over a couple months, adjusting for certain holidays and seasons and write up a chart for the other gate agents to follow. That way they’ll have a better idea of how many bags to check for a given number of passengers.” Her eyes briefly shifted over at Clarke who hadn’t spoken during her whole spiel except for hums of agreement. “It’ll hopefully help with passenger flow and on time departures…what do you think?” Lexa’s question oozed with vulnerability, indicating that if Clarke didn’t like the idea, then she would shut it down immediately.

“I think it’s a great plan!” she enthused, breaking her silence. “Really Lexa, you’re a very forward-thinker, and I love it.”

Lexa beamed. Everyone likes a compliment. But a compliment from _Clarke_ …with Clarke’s support, she was sure she could fly. “Do you have any suggestions? Is this something that you think people would find helpful?”

“I think it’s a great idea,” Clarke nodded emphatically before drifting off in thought momentarily. “I have a suggestion, though.”

“What is it?” Lexa asked immediately, eager for a critique.

“You should add a bathroom announcement as part of your boarding process.” She was grinning, and Lexa looked to her confused, so she continued. “You know, ask the crowd if anybody needs to use the restroom, let them know where it is, and force them to use the comfortable bathrooms _in the terminal_ so they don’t board the plane and immediately head for the nasty lavatory!”

Lexa’s confused look only deepened, with a slight display of amusement. “What? Is that an issue?” she laughed.

“A big issue!” Clarke threw her hands in the air.

Lexa was caught off guard by this new information. “Really? Is it causing delays?” she asked, concerned.

Clarke softened at that, “Well…no, not really. It’s just…it’s super annoying.” Lexa cocked her head to the side in mock disapproval.

“Well, then I’ll just have to add that to the boarding announcements immediately!” She held up a fake microphone, “Ladies and gentlemen, you must pee now or forever hold your _pee_. Because it’s super annoying when you use the airplane lavatory. And, as always, _thank you_ for choosing Polaris Airlines!”

Clarke laughed embarrassingly loud and shoved Lexa’s shoulder, “Fine! Don’t add it to your routine announcements, but you could shave a good 10 seconds off boarding time, just saying!”

Lexa joined Clarke with an honest, throaty laugh. “Alright! We’re here!” She popped the break and turned the car off. “This place stays open pretty late, lucky for us.”

“Perfect; let’s eat!”

Clarke didn’t miss the way Lexa held the door open for her, and she didn’t miss the fact that Lexa requested an outdoor table on the empty patio. But she tried to ignore the classic signs of romantic interest as they settled in and Lexa questioned her about her week and why it was so draining.

“…We all have insecurities, I get that,” Clarke was summing up her trip as the waitress dropped their plates off. “But not everyone has to take them out on those around them. I don’t know,” she laughed it off. “I’m just glad it’s over now.” Lexa agreed and they both dug into their food, happily chomping when Clarke spoke up again. “So what’s got you working late shifts and doubles again? Didn’t get enough family time last weekend?” Then she leaned her head to the side, “Got a special friend out there or something?”

It took Lexa a second to register all the questions, especially the last one. “All my friends are special,” she arched an eyebrow playfully, and Clarke chuckled, rolling her eyes. “But, no. I’m taking a vacation in a few weeks. What’s the point of having these travel benefits if we never use them?”

That perked Clarke’s ears up, “Oh, that’s exciting! Where’re you going?”

“New Orleans,” she smiled. “Eat some Cajun, boil some crawdad, sweat a little.”

“Mmm, that sounds nice. Minus the sweating.”

“You should come with me!” Lexa suggested quickly before freezing in terror. Obviously inviting Clarke had entered her mind, but they didn’t know each other at all. They weren’t friends or travel buddies or…anything. Not yet.

Clarke’s heart skipped a beat, effectively freezing her, too. “Okay!” She took a deep breath and Lexa slowly smiled in relief. “I, uh. Schedules don’t come out for another few days, so I can’t say for sure yet. Which days were you looking to go?”

Lexa angled her head to the side and closed one eye, trying to remember. “The second week of next month, I think. I’m taking the whole week off, but I’ll probably only spend about three days there. Let me know what your schedule looks like when you get it,” she continued. “I can be flexible with my days too since I haven’t traded off all my shifts yet.”

“Sounds perfect,” Clarke sighed, nearly lost in what felt like a daydream. A trip with Lexa would be very exciting. “I love to travel. Did you know that about me?” she laughed sarcastically.

“I could gather,” Lexa played along, laughing.

“Like, I _really_ love it.”

“What’s your favorite place to go?” she asked softly, propping her elbows on the table and resting her chin in her hands.

“Oh, wow,” Clarke sighed. “Such a hard question…” She inhaled, deep in thought. “Well… I’ll start off by saying that I find something to like everywhere I go, whether it’s food or the train system or even one person who makes a moment wonderful. But! If I were to pick one place overall, it might be… oh, I don’t know!” She threw her head into her hands before whipping it back up with an idea. “Okay, how about you name a place, and I’ll tell you my favorite thing about it.”

Lexa smiled and raised her brow, intrigued, “Okay. How about London.”

“Kensington Gardens.” Clarke answered quickly.

Lexa laughed, “You haven’t spent much time in London, have you?”

“I was there six hours,” she nodded, affirmatively.

Lexa chuckled again, “Okay, how about…the Czech Republic?”

“Ahh, Cesky Krumlov.”

“Right?!” Lexa beamed, nodding enthusiastically.

“Loved it.” Clarke declared again. “I mean, it’s probably one of those stops all tourists take, but wow. Gorgeous. And adorable. It has everything you could want from a small European castle town.”

“Gorgeous. Adorable. I agree.”

“Wait, you’ve been there, too?” Clarke asked excitedly. “That’s amazing!”

Before continuing, Lexa allowed herself to enjoy the feeling of understanding that you get when talking to someone about a place you’ve both been. They could appreciate and relive the little nuances. The way the little rivers babbled in the morning, the funny bar songs from drunk patrons late at night, the view from the castle. It was a distant memory brought back to life, and Lexa’s heart swelled that she could share it with Clarke, after what felt like nearly a lifetime later.

“Okay, Argentina.”

“Never been!” Clarke raised her eyebrows eagerly. “I want to go so bad!”

“Well, then you’ve gotta go!” Lexa enthused back.

“I know.”

“Okay,” she tried again. “I’ll do an easy one. Japan.”

“The food. Hands down. I’m a slut for anything Asian. It’s so delicious, and it feels like I’m eating something healthy but so good at the same time. Vegetables, steamed rice, fish. Those little rice balls you find at 7/11 and stuff! So good.”

“Fair,” Lexa nodded.

“What about you?” Clarke leaned forward, interrogatingly. “It’s your turn. What’s your favorite place?”

“Hmm,” she pondered for a moment. “I kind of like it right here, talking to you.” It was a risky move, but Lexa kept her confident smirk, thoroughly enjoying the blush reddening Clarke’s smiling cheeks.

Clarke tried to act oblivious to Lexa’s gaze. “It _is_ a nice night,” she agreed, stretching her arms high above her head and pushing back in her chair to stare at the dark sky. But Lexa didn’t sit back, didn’t lift her eyes above. She kept them trained on girl in front of her until Clarke brought herself back down. Her eyes looked sleepier than before, but she continued the conversation. “So…” Clarke began with shy grin, “what’s your family like?”

Lexa took a long, deep breath and dropped her shoulders as she let it out, “Oh geez,” she shook her head with a smile. “In a word, crazy.”

“Is that so?” Clarke laughed.

“Well, let’s see. I’ll give you the run down. I have three brothers; two older, one younger. We grew up in New England; mom and dad own their own store, which they started from the ground up. Summers on the water and in the mountains. School, piano lessons, sports. Pretty typical,” she finished with a casual shrug of her shoulders.

Clarke’s smile split her face at Lexa’s 10 second rendition of her childhood. “That sounds pretty great.”

“They _are_ pretty great. Stupid, sometimes,” she bobbed her head. “But pretty great. It’s just hard going home these days,” she added gently.

“Because you’re growing up?” Clarke asked tentatively. Lexa gave a noncommittal nod.

“Things were easy growing up, then everything got really hard for some reason. It’s weird how that happens.” Clarke nodded in agreement. “It’s hard going home again, seeing old friends, remembering old girlfriends.” Clarke’s heartrate suddenly increased and her palms began sweating. _Did she say girlfriends?_ Perhaps Lexa had meant old _female_ friends. Or maybe she was as gay for girls as Clarke was for her. If this wasn’t just the best news she’d ever heard. And she didn’t hear what Lexa said after that. _Something about her brothers_ , Clarke thought, eyes still wide and heart still rapidly beating.

“I’m more worried about them sometimes than I am myself...” she heard Lexa say.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, my oldest brother, he refuses to grow any roots. Not with friends or lovers, or even cities. …He doesn’t see how damaging it’s been for him. And the other is almost the exact opposite. He’s still living at my parent’s house, as if he’s terrified to leave home. He’s in desperate need for direction, too.”

Clarke tried impossibly to contain her giddiness at the still fresh and happy realization. She felt full of life. “What about the youngest one?”

Lexa grinned easily, “Oh, he’s a doll. I’m so proud of him. And I will pummel anyone who breaks his spirit. He’s the only hope I have left in our family,” she laughed, jokingly.

“He sounds precious,” Clarke smiled.

“He is… What about you? Do you have any brothers?”

“I have one sister.” Clarke nodded, content to leave it at that.

“And? What’s she like?”

“Well, we don’t talk much. It’s been, uh. I don’t know. She’s off doing her thing, and I’m over here doing my thing…”

“So you guys don’t talk?”

“No, not really,” Clarke’s voice went high, and she was avoiding eye contact, bouncing distractedly in her chair. Lexa took the hint and dropped it.

“Well, I wanna hear more about you, Clarke.” She placed her hands in her lap and pressed forward slightly, and again Clarke felt the anxiety of a nervous stomach creep up with the knowledge that this beautiful girl was, in fact, into girls. “What do you care about in life?”

Clarke sat back, stumped again for the second time that night. “Wow. You’re really on fire with the tough questions tonight, aren’t you?” She crooked her head thoughtfully before beginning. “Well, I’ve always cared deeply about people. I was into all that save the planet and her children stuff in college. And it still matters to me, maybe on a more concentrated level than before,” she circled her arms out in front of her in demonstration. “I, uh. Yeah, I care about people.”

“To the expense of yourself?”

She wasn’t offended by the insinuation that she wasn’t taking care of herself. Part of her agreed that Lexa had a point. “Maybe a few years ago, yes,” she frowned. “But I’m slowly coming to the realization that if I’m not in good sorts, what good am I to others, you know?”

Lexa nodded firmly, with the expression of someone who knew first-hand what Clarke meant. “This is true.” And like that, the two girls’ thoughts drifted off to separate places, to family matters, but feeling safe and grounded in the other’s presence.

Neither felt awkward or afraid when one of them suggested they head back to the employee lot. This was a good night, and there was a silent promise of more to come.

Before she could reach for the door handle, Lexa reminded Clarke as she tossed the gear into park, sitting in front of Clarke’s car in the employee lot once again, “Let me know what your schedule looks like when you get it, and hopefully we can make this trip happen.”

“Absolutely! It’ll be fun!” Clarke shuffled in her seat for a moment as Lexa sat still, allowing her to take her time leaving. “I, uh, had a good time tonight. Thanks for inviting me out!”

Lexa’s kind, gentle eyes met with Clarke’s, and she nodded gratefully. “I’m glad you agreed to join me.” At that, Clarke reached over the center console to wrap her arms around Lexa, who molded into the embrace, squeezing slightly, waiting for Clarke to release first.

“I’ll see you later?” Clarke asked after stepping out of the car, bending down level to the window and tucking her blonde hair behind an ear.

“I’ll see you later.” Lexa confirmed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr: bu-bumblr
> 
> Plenty more to come! 
> 
>  
> 
> Also, I hope people are getting excited for Clexa Week 2017! I have some one-shot ideas that I hope I have the time to carry out.


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